B R A C K L O O NT H E S T O R Y O F A N I R I S H O A K W O O D

B R A C K L O O NT H E S T O R Y O F A N I R I S H O A K W O O D

D E I R D R E C U N N I N G H A M

COFORD, National Council for Forest Research and DevelopmentArena HouseArena RoadSandyfordDublin 18IrelandTel: + 353 1 2130725Fax: + 353 1 2130611 COFORD 2005

First published in 2005 by COFORD, National Council for Forest Research and Development, Dublin, Ireland.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing fromCOFORD.

The views and opinions expressed in this publication belong to the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of COFORD.

ISBN 1 902696 39 5

Title: Brackloon - The story of an Irish oak wood.Author: D. Cunningham.

Citation: Cunningham, D. 2005. Brackloon - The story of an Irish oak wood. COFORD, Dublin.

Illustrations: Vincent ColemanCover design and painting 'Brackloon Wood': Vincent ColemanPhotography: Declan Greene

Réamhfhocal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iForeword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iiiRéamhrá. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vPreface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiAcknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1After the ice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Woodland evolution at Brackloon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Brackloon in the last few centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23The soils beneath the trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Vegetation of Brackloon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Cycles of life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Animals of Brackloon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Birds of Brackloon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113The future? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Bibliography and references used in the text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

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R É A M H F H O C A L

i

Is acmhainn neamhchoitianta luachmhar iad na coillte dúchasacha atá fágtha in Éirinn. Mhair siad faoibhagairt go dtí na luathseachtóidí nuair a tosaíodh ar iad a cheapadh ina tearmainn nádúir. San idirlinncuireadh leis an limistéar seo agus cinntíodh go mbeidh an chuid atá fágtha slán san am le teacht.

Ba chóir gan amharc ar an méid seo, áfach, ach mar thús áite, ní mór cuid mhór oibre idir eolaíochagus phraiticiúil a dhéanamh leis an méid atá fágtha a caomhnú agus a leathnú. Tá dhá thionscnamhshuntasacha faoi lánseol faoi láthair a chuideoidh le tabhairt faoi na riachtanais seo. Sheol an tSeirbhísForaoiseachta Scéim na gCoillte Dúchasacha i 2001, a bhfuil mar chomhaidhmeanna aici coillte achaomhnú agus a leathnú. Ag an am céanna thosaigh Dúchas, Seirbhís na bPáirceanna Náisiúnta agusFiadhúlra mar atá anois, ar shuirbhé náisiúnta ar na coillearnacha dúchasacha. Ní mór maoiniú a churar fáil don obair seo san am le teacht ionas gur féidir méid iomlán na hacmhainne atá fágtha a chinntiú.

Ar aon dul leis an obair suirbhéireachta, tá an fiosrú eolaíoch ar choillte dúchasacha atá chomhtábhachtach céanna maidir le tacaíocht a thabhairt do chaomhnú agus úsáid chiallmhar. Ar napríomhfhoirne atá gníomhach sa limistéar seo tá Grúpa Taighde Éacachóras na Foraoise ag Coláiste nahOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath. Bhíodh a chuid oibre bunaithe go príomha ag Brackloon.

Ar dtús is é a bhí i gceist ná na hinchuir cheimiceacha a thomhas i bhfearthainn agus ceo, agus agclaochlú agus úsáid agus iad ag bogadh trí na codanna difriúla den éacachóras. Leathnaíodh an obairseo leis na suirbhéanna ar phlandaí agus ainmhithe a thabhairt isteach le pictiúr níos iomláine athabhairt den dóigh ar oibrigh na coillte. I 2001, d’fhoilsigh COFORD tuarascáil achomair de ghnéitheeolaíocha na hoibre i Dianmhonatóireacht ar choillearnach dara in iarthar na hÉireann – Forbairt arLíonra Monatóireachta Éaceolaíoch.

Tá coillte dúchasacha iarmharacha mar Bracklooon níos mó ná iarsmaí de na coillte móra a bhí annfadó – tá gné sóisialta agus stair úsáide leo a thugann a gcarachtar speisialta dóibh. Baineadh tréanúsáid

as cuid mhór acu san am atá thart le haghaidh adhmaid agus gualaigh: ag Brackloon cruthaítear sin agsraith ghualaigh atá le fáil san ithir. Tá lios agus fulachta fiadh ann chomh maith a chruthaíonn go raibhdaoine ag cur fúthu sa choill ag dáta luath.

Le hoibríochtaí a rinneadh ar na mallaibh, baineadh na crainn bhuaircíneacha as de réir a chéile aguscuireadh speicis dhúchasacha leathanduilleacha isteach ina n-áit, d’fhonn coillte dúchasacha adhéanamh den cheantar ar fad. Tá moladh tuillte ag réchonn Coillte agus iad ag seasamh an fhóid arson an athraithe seo, agus gan dabht déanfar an rud céanna in áiteanna iele ar fud na tír, ag cur le leathnúlimistéar na gcoillte dúchasacha.

Tá áthas orainn go raibh ar a chumas ag COFORD bheith ábalta tacú leis an obair a rinneadh leisan fhoilseachán seo a chur le chéile. Beidh a lainseáil, atá ag teacht chomh cóngarach sin don chéadúbliain den fhoraoiseacht in Éirinn, cuideoidh sé le cur i gcuimhne dúinn faoin oidhreacht shaibhirbhitheolaíoch agus chultúrtha a bhaineann lenár gcoillearnacha dúchasacha. Is scéal é a scríobhadh dolucht léite leathan a thuigfidh trína leathanaigh an gá atá le caomhnú agus leathnú leanúnach adhéanamh ar shócmhainn shárluachmhar náisiúnta.

David Nevins An Dr Eugene HendrickCathaoirleach Stiúrthóir

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Ireland’s remaining native woodlands are a rare and precious resource. Their existence remained underthreat until the early 1970s when they began to be designated as nature reserves. In the interim this areahas been augmented and the future of most of what remains has been secured.

This should only be regarded, however, as a starting point, much scientific and practical work needsto be done to conserve and expand what is left. Two significant initiatives are underway at present thatwill help to address these needs. The Forest Service launched the Native Woodlands Scheme in 2001which is aimed at the twin objectives of conservation and expansion. At the same time Dúchas, nowthe National Parks and Wildlife Service, began a national survey of native woodlands. This work needsto be resourced into the future so that the full extent of remaining resource can be determined.

Allied to the survey work is the scientific investigation of native woodlands which is equallyimportant in underpinning conservation and wise use. One of the principal teams active in this area isthe Forest Ecosystem Research Group at University College Dublin. Its work has been mainly based atBrackloon.

Initially the work involved measuring chemical inputs in rainfall and mist, and their transformationand use as they moved through the different parts of the ecosystem. This work was expanded to includeflora and fauna surveys to give a fuller picture of the how the woodland worked. COFORD, in 2001,published a synopsis report of the scientific aspects of the work in Intensive monitoring of an oakwoodland in western Ireland - Development of an Ecological Monitoring Network.

Remnant native woodlands such as Brackloon are however, more than traces of the great woods ofthe past - they have a social dimension and a history of use that gives them their special character. Mosthave been heavily exploited in the past for soild wood and charcoal; at Brackloon a charcoal layer

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buried in the soil is ample testament to that fact. Early occupation of the woodland is also attested bythe prominent ring fort and the presence of fulacta fiadh. As Dr Deirdre Cunningham points outBrackloon integrates these uses and changes, and reflects them in the species composition it has today.

Recent operations have seen the gradual removal of the planted conifers and their replacement bynative broadleaved species, with the aim of restoring the full area as native woodland. Coillte’sforesight in championing this restoration is commendable, and will no doubt be replicated in other areasthroughout the country, contributing to the expansion of the area of native woodland.

We are pleased that COFORD has been in a position to support the work that went into thecompilation of this publication. Its launch so close to the hundredth year of Irish forestry, will serve asa reminder of the rich biological and cultural heritage that is associated with our native woodlands. Itis a story written for a wide audience that through its pages will appreciate the need for continuingconservation and expansion of a priceless national asset.

David Nevins Dr Eugene HendrickChairman Director

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Scaipthe ar fud na hÉireann, in áiteanna iargúlta faoin tuath, tá giotaí de sheanchoillearnach a bhfuilcuma mhothallach tréigthe orthu, beagnach mar a bheadh leisce orainn spás a roinnt leo san oileán. Isiad iarsmaí ár gcoillte dúchasacha iad, a bhfuil nasc acu go minic i gcomharbas caol ach cadránta leisna foraoisí ársa Éireannacha a riaradh ar shaoil ár sinsear.

Tá athrú mór tagtha ar ár saoil féin, chomh maith lenár ndearcadh faoin nádúr. I ndiaidh na mbliantafada de mhí-úsáid a dhéanamh ar ár gcrainn dhúchasacha agus neamhspéis a dhéanamh díobh, tá muidag teacht chun tuisceana ar a luach arís – ní amháin mar fhoinsí féideartha den chrua-adhmad, ach marchosantóirí na bithéagsúlachta agus sláinte an phláinéid agus foinsí mórphléisiúir agus tógála croí agan chine daonna.

Sa bhrú nua náisiúnta chun coillearnacha dúchasacha a thabhairt ar ais agus a leathnú, tá rólspeisialta le himirt ag na hiarsmaí atá ann faoi láthair. Tá cúltaca luachmhar acu de speicis plandaí agusfeithidí atá de dhíth le héiceachórais leathanduilleacha a athchruthú go rathúil. Agus tá ceachtanna leteagasc acu faoi phleanáil agus bainistíocht bunaithe ar réimse iomlán na n-eolaíochtaí agus archeirdeanna adhmaid ar bheag nach ndearnadh dearmad orthu, iad go léir fite fuaite ina chéile.

I bhfara ar chnocáin chreagacha os cionn Bá Clew, tá Coill Brackloon ar na hiarsmaí is mó.Baineadh na crainn bhuaircíneacha nach raibh ag teacht leis an áit amach agus cuireadh spreasáinbheaga ag bun na crainn dara arda 200 bliain d’aois a nascann leis an am atá thart é. Is fada staidéar ádhéanamh air mar choill dara den chineál tipiciúil, ceann tais “Atlantach”, raithneach agus crotal arimill a brainsí, agus is fada í ina lárionad trialach don athchóiriú agus don taighde éiceolaíoch.

Sa leabhar inmholta seo a bhfuil an-eolas le baint as, tarraingíonn Deirdre Cunningham ar an taighdeseo le coimpléasc iomlán Brackloon a fhiosrú mar shaol iontach éagsúil de phlandaí agus ainmhithe,

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ón ithir chuig na brainsí is airde. Ach an fáth go bhfuil an oiread sin le gnóthú as a cuid oibre ná andóigh a mothaíonn sí scéal daonna na coille, ag fí fhianaise na ndoiciméad stairiúil trí shága nádúrthana coille den úsáid agus den athfhás. Léirítear an dóigh a raibh daoine beo i, ar agus thart timpeall arBrackloon chomh maith leis na hiarsmaí seandálalaíocht, mar an uaimh shaorga agus poill na ndóirígualaigh.

Is scéal an-spéisiúil agus tábhachtach é scéal Brackloon. Tá sé inste ag Deirdre Cunningham ardhóigh a mbainfidh éiceolaithe agus gnáthghráthóirí nádúir araon an-sult as, chomh maith le pobalcheantar Chathair na Mart-Louisburgh, nach mór dóibh an choill dara a mheas ina taisce a cailleadhagus a fuarthas arís.

Michael Viney

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Scattered across Ireland, in out-of-the-way corners of the countryside, are patches of old woodland witha ragged, left-over look, almost as if we grudged them their space on the island. They are remnants ofour native woods, often connecting in slender but stubborn succession to the ancient Irish forests thatserved the lives of our ancestors.

Our own lives have greatly changed, along with attitudes to nature. After long abuse and neglect ofnative trees, we are rediscovering their value - not merely as potential stores of hardwood but asguardians of biodiversity and planetary health and sources of great human pleasure and uplift.

In the new national drive to restore and extend native woodland, the existing remnants have aspecial role to play. They hold a precious reservoir of plant and insect species essential to recreatingsuccessful broadleaf ecosystems. And they have lessons to teach about planning and managementbased on a whole range of interlocking sciences and near-forgotten woodcraft.

Perched on rocky hillocks above Clew Bay, Brackloon Wood is one of the larger remnants, nowcleared of trespassing conifers and planted with infant saplings at the feet of the lofty, 200-year-oldoaks that connect it to its past. Long studied as a typically moist “Atlantic” oakwood, its branchesfringed with ferns and lichens, it has become a national testbed of restoration and ecological research.

In this admirable and deeply-informative book, Deirdre Cunningham draws on this research toexplore the whole anatomy of Brackloon as an incredibly diverse world of plants and wildlife, from thesoil to the topmost twigs. But what makes her work especially enriching is its feeling for the wood’shuman story, weaving the witness of historical documents through the wood’s natural saga ofexploitation and renewal. The extent to which people lived in, on and around Brackloon is also shownby such archaeological remains as its dramatic souterrain and the pits of the charcoal-burners.

The story of Brackloon is a fascinating and important one. Deirdre Cunningham has told it in a waythat will appeal to ecologists and ordinary nature-lovers, and to the community of the Westport-Louisburgh area, for whom the oakwood must be reckoned a rediscovered treasure.

Michael Viney

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P R E F A C E

viii

I wish to acknowledge the kind assistance of the following in the preparation of this book:

Prof. Ted Farrell, UCD, for his guidance, assistance and encouragement throughout this project; DrJim Collins, UCD, for his advice and suggestions and providing references and other material; DrDeclan Little, Woodlands of Ireland, for his assistance and comments on an earlier draft of the text; DrJohn Feehan, UCD, for valuable comments and suggestions on an earlier draft; Michael Viney, who inaddition to providing the preface for the book, read an earlier draft of the text; Prof. Fraser Mitchelland Leo Morahan for providing comments on various sections.

I wish to acknowledge the work of the Forest Ecosystem Research Group, led by Prof. Ted Farrell,and the other researchers who carried out scientific studies at Brackloon over the last decade, fromwhose reports much material in this book is drawn and which are listed in the bibliography.

I wish to thank the Board of the National Library of Ireland for permission to publish material fromthe Westport Estate Papers, the Keeper of Manuscripts, Noel Kissane, for permission to access themprior to their being listed, and Brigid Clesham and Wesley Geddis, cataloguers of the papers, for theirassistance in locating relevant material.

The illustrations were provided by Vincent Coleman, an architect practicing in Mayo. Allwatercolors, drawings, photomontage, front and rear cover illustrations are originals for this book.

Photographs were taken by Declan Greene. Additional photographs were provided by Jim Collins,UCD (p.42, 44), Declan Little, (p. 40), Brendan Sayers, National Botanic Gardens (p.53), and theauthor (p.19, 37 and 58).

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Lauren MacLennan, COFORD, prepared the manuscript for publication.

My gratitude is also extended to the following people who contributed in various ways to thisproject: Julian Aherne, UCD; Gillian Boyle, UCD; Marian Coll, RPS Group, Sydney and BreegeCostello, Knappagh; Joe Doyle, Forest Service; the late Jarlath Duffy, Clew Bay Historical Society;Jerry Hawe, Sylviron; Sonia Kelly, Cloona; Catherine O’Reilly, Brackloon NS; Sebastian vonEngelbrechten, TCD.

I wish to thank my colleagues in Mayo County Council and my former colleagues in the ForestEcosystem Research Group in UCD for their support and encouragement.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge COFORD for financial assistance and for seeing this project throughall its stages.

Deirdre Cunningham

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As the Ice Age glaciers started to loosen their grip on Ireland 12,000 years ago, trees graduallybegan to recolonise the landscape. When the first people arrived over 9,000 years ago, they encountereda country that was extensively forested, and where oak was one of the dominant tree species.

Over the following millennia, clearance for agriculture, occasional outbreaks of disease, lightning-induced fires, exploitation for timber and fuel, and general neglect resulted in the destruction anddecline of a once great native forest resource. At the beginning of the twentieth century less than oneper cent of Ireland’s land area remained wooded. These woodlands are located in hilly, often remoteand inaccessible, areas, on infertile acid soils. Their sustainability is of major concern.

Brackloon Wood is a surviving remnant of the original wooded landscape. Situated in the sceniclandscape of west Mayo, the wood nestles in undulating terrain on the eastern footslopes of CroaghPatrick, seven kilometres south west of Westport town. The Owenwee River flows along its easternboundary and meanders its way to Clew Bay, a few kilometres to the north west.

Brackloon is a typical Atlantic oak wood. Its 74 ha support sessile oak, downy birch, ash, wych elmand rowan. Holly and hazel form the understorey. The humid climate and frequent cloud cover assistthe growth of the rich flora of shade-tolerant ferns and bryophytes. The epiphyte community is quiteremarkable — the boughs of the oak trees are laden with lichens as well as mosses. Some trees havealso been colonised by ivy.

The beauty and uniqueness of this area has long been recognised. Early travellers to the regionappreciated and remarked upon the allure of the wood and its landscape. McParlan (1802) wasespecially effusive:

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

Brackloon: ‘breac’ – spotted or speckled, ‘cluain’ – meadow or pasture

“…In travelling this tract (from Galway) the traveller feels refreshed while passing theextensive woods of the Marquis of Sligo. Woods are everywhere delightful; but one ofthose in particular the Brackloon Wood, viewed from Davy’s-stone-rock, and viewed insuch country too, is singularly interesting…”

Thackeray (1842) painted with a somewhat wider brush:

“...And presently, from an eminence, I caught sight not only of a fine view, but of the mostbeautiful view I ever saw in the world, I think; and to enjoy the splendour of which I wouldtravel a hundred miles in that car with that very horse and driver. The sun was just aboutto set, and the country road round about and to the east was almost in twilight. Themountains were tumbled about in a thousand fantastic ways, and swarming with people.Trees, cornfields, cottages made the scene indescribably cheerful; noble woods stretchedtowards the sea, and abutting on them, between two highlands, lay the smoking town…”

Formerly part of Lord Sligo’s Westport House Estate, Brackloon Wood was acquired by the LandCommission in the 1940s. It was later transferred to the Forest and Wildlife Service, and subsequentlyto Coillte (the Irish Forestry Board), the current owner.

The wood has been the subject of various vegetation surveys, attracting several botanicalexpeditions over the years. During the first Clare Island Survey (1911–13), at least one party visited thewood, during which a wealth of mycological data was collected.

Location of Brackloon. Part of OS Discovery Sheet Nos. 31 and 38.

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Historical surveys are invaluable, not least in the context of comparing species present in the woodtoday with those recorded in the past, providing an insight into how the vegetation composition of thewood has changed. Ongoing surveys will tell us how it continues to change under current conditionsand pressures.

Brackloon Wood did not always look the way it does today. The influence of man on the vegetationhas been profound. Throughout its long history the wood has undergone periods of intense exploitationand periods without management of any kind.

Part of the wood was felled and planted with conifers in the 1960s, a practice that was common inmany native woodlands around the country at that time. The extant mature oak stand survived thisclearance. Now almost 200 years old, these oaks all grew from seedlings and coppice sprouts from treesthat had been felled. Today, the main oak woodland comprises an intact area of about 11 ha. Smaller,isolated groups of oak also occur throughout the area.

Brackloon Wood was surveyed by the Forest and Wildlife Service in 1973. At that time only theresidual mature woodland was recommended for conservation. However, a subsequent survey almost10 years later recommended the entire Brackloon property for Nature Reserve Status. In 1999, the woodwas finally designated as a proposed Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU HabitatsDirective, by the National Parks and Wildlife division of the Department of the Environment, Heritageand Local Government. SACs are prime wildlife conservation areas, considered to be important in aEuropean as well as an Irish context.

Although the woodland had been drastically altered by the planting of conifers in the 1960s, thebasic oak woodland structure persisted. It was this surviving native woodland element at Brackloon thatfirst attracted the attention of the Forest Ecosystem Research Group (FERG) in UCD, and resulted inthe initiation of ecological studies in the early 1990s.

As the breadth of knowledge regarding the woodland increased, the ecological importance of theoak wood, in spite of its fragmentation, became very apparent. Based on this knowledge, the decisionwas taken by Coillte to convert the coniferous plantation back to native broadleaved forest, in order toenhance its ecological and conservation attributes. Accordingly, the coniferous stands within the woodwere prematurely removed, starting in the mid–1990s.

In the last decade Brackloon has become a key resource for ecological research and for monitoringenvironmental change. It has become the most intensively studied semi-natural oak woodlandecosystem in Ireland. An extensive scheme of surveying was undertaken in the late 1990s in which allaspects of the woodland ecosystem were studied as part of a long-term monitoring network programme.It was the intention that elements of this survey would be repeated every five to ten years; some of thiswork has already been carried out. In addition, the vegetation history of the wood spanning the entire

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10,000 year period since the end of the last Ice Age has been investigated through pollen analysis andradiocarbon dating. From archaeological studies undertaken within and around the wood, the culturalhistory of the wood has been elucidated. Brackloon has, in effect, become a living laboratory.

Today, the objective at Brackloon is more than just protection and research; it is also to restore thewood to its former stature and diversity. Since 1998, the wood has been the focus of a plannedmanagement programme that has three aims: to restore and conserve the semi-natural status of theentire wood, to ensure the sustainability and longevity of the wood, and to maximise biodiversity (thevariety of all living things) within the wood.

The process of recreating the original wooded landscape of Brackloon continues. Most of theplanted conifers have now been felled and removed and the wood is being encouraged to revert to its

original composition. Some of the woodland is being left to regenerate on its own, while otherclearfelled areas have been replanted with broadleaf trees grown from seed collected at Brackloon. Thewood has been refenced and made stock-proof, and the invasive rhododendron has been removed. Thelong process of restoring and recreating has just begun; to restore the wood to a full mature canopyfrom its own genetic resources may take two to three centuries to accomplish.

A new chapter in the long history of Brackloon is starting … but first let us go back to itsbeginnings.

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Twenty thousand years ago Ireland was nearing the end of the last cold stage of a two million year longIce Age. A thinning blanket of ice covered most of the country, with only the higher mountain peaksprotruding here and there. A new landscape remoulded by the ice and its melt waters was graduallyemerging.

This periglacial landscape was a harsh and inhospitable place, with arctic-like conditions prevailing.Plants had yet to return from the southerly refuges in which they survived during the icy conditions.There had been plants in Ireland before. During the glacial era there had been a number of glaciations,each followed by a warm ‘interglacial’ period with its own flora. Successive advances and retreats ofthe ice cleared the vegetation cover, and quarried, scoured and comminuted the bedrock over which ittravelled. Fresh rock debris and older soils and sediments were incorporated into the glacial load. Asthe glaciers finally retreated, 12-15,000 years ago, this load was deposited to become the parentmaterials of the soils we have today.

The water locked up in the ice was enough to reduce sea levels to about 120 m lower than they aretoday. Ireland and Britain were part of the same landmass, which was in turn part of ContinentalEurope. As the ice melted and the melt waters entered the oceans, sea level rose over a period of a fewthousand years. Tracts of dry land that connected Ireland to Britain were submerged and Irelandbecame an island. There was only a short period of time before the rising seas formed a restrictivebarrier to plants and animals making their way to Ireland. Those that had arrived became Ireland’snative flora and fauna.

The late-glacial period from 13,000 to 10,000 years ago was characterised by several fluctuationsin climate. Only a few hardy species could survive the oscillations in temperature. Those plants that

A F T E R T H E I C E

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SOIL DEVELOPMENT

Material deposited by the retreating glaciers has over the millennia been subject to a range ofsoil-forming processes, resulting in the many and varied soil types that clothe the land today.As soon as vegetation started to gain a foothold in this parent material, soil development,however primitive, had begun. As plants died, their remains were partly decomposed by soilorganisms and organic matter or humus built up. Earthworms, and other small animals, mixedthe organic material with the underlying mineral soil. This mixed material became the first soillayer, or horizon, which developed. The role of climate in soil formation was also importantwith temperature and the amount of rainfall affecting the rate of decomposition of organicremains.

As plant residues decay, organic acids are formed. These acids are carried by water percolatingthrough the soil, where they stimulate weathering or breakdown processes. They solubilisesome chemicals that are leached from the upper soil body downwards. As weatheringproceeds, some primary minerals are disintegrated and altered to form secondary minerals.These newly formed minerals may accumulate where they are formed or may move downwardand accumulate in lower soil zones. Soil horizons are formed as materials are translocated ormoved from one soil zone to another.

As time went on soil gradually became differentiated into more horizons. Some upper horizonsare characterised by the removal of specific constituents, while the accumulation of these orother constituents may characterise the lower horizons. In either case soil horizons are createdthat are different in character from the original parent material.

Horizons are usually parallel to the ground surface but in some soils they are wavy andundulating. The degree of horizonation is an expression of the kind and degree of soildevelopment that has taken place.

A vertical section through the soil, down to and including any parent material, comprising asequence of these horizons, is called a soil profile. The profile is the basic unit of study inassessing the nature of any soil. The major horizons that occur in most soil profiles are labelledA (topsoil), B (subsoil) and C (parent material).

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returned, as the climate ameliorated, were forced to retreat again when the cold returned. The extremeconditions permitted only the emergence of a sporadic arctic-alpine plant cover, in a landscape in whichbare soil still predominated.

Initially, only hardier plants such as algae, lichens and mosses clothed the ground, gaining afoothold in the debris left behind by the melting glaciers. As these early colonisers died anddecomposed, their remains (humus) enriched the soils for the next generation of colonising plants.Soon Ireland was covered in meadows of grasses, dock and meadowsweet. This phase ended when thegrasslands were invaded by juniper, a short compact conifer, and crowberry.

About 10,000 years ago cold conditions finally came to an end. As the climatic and edaphicconditions progressively improved, forest trees gradually began to recolonise the country. The first treeto gain a foothold was birch, then hazel, followed by pine, oak and elm. Pine was the most commontree on rocky and infertile sites in the west. In fertile regions, elm, ash and oak predominated. Over theperiod of the next 5,000 years or so, the Irish landscape evolved from open, treeless tundra to onealmost completely covered in woodland.

Brackloon Wood: a surviving remnant of our native woodlandBrackloon Wood is a surviving remnant of the original wooded landscape. The wood, however, has notalways looked the way it does today. During its 10,000 year history it has undergone many changes,with different trees and plants forming important components of the vegetation at different times. Thehistory of the wood is captured in the sediments of a former lake within the wood.

A large swampy area near the centre of the wood is marked on the Ordnance Survey map asBrackloon Lough. Over the millennia the lake has become in-filled with vegetation. Today, it is aswampy area about 30 m in diameter, dominated by sally (willow). Small areas of open water occurwithin it. During times of high rainfall the entire area becomes flooded. Sediment cores to a depth of15 m have been extracted from this area, representing about 10,000 years of accumulation. Pollenanalysis of these cores have revealed one of the longest records of post-glacial (or Holocene) vegetationchange in Ireland, spanning the entire period from the end of the last Ice Age through to the presentday.

Most long sediment sequences in Ireland have been obtained from lakes or bogs and relate mainlyto regional vegetation developments. Brackloon Lough is small in area with a restricted pollencatchment with a record that relates mostly to local vegetation history. The restricted area has provento be invaluable in investigating the relationship between changes in the woodland vegetation andhuman activity.

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RECONSTRUCTING VEGETATION HISTORY

Vegetation development since the end of the Ice Age has been charted using pollen analysis.Plants produce pollen in vast quantities, which depends on wind and animals for transfer fromone plant to another of the same species so that fertilisation and reproduction can occur. Mostpollen never reaches its intended destination. When it falls on the surface of bogs or lakes itbecomes incorporated into the sediments as they accumulate over time. Pollen can bepreserved for thousands of years in the acidic peats and lake muds. Most is resistant to decaydue to its tough outer coating and because organisms that may destroy the pollen do not occurin strongly acidic environments. When the material in which the pollen is preserved isremoved by chemicals in the laboratory, the pollen grains can be studied with a microscope.By extracting a vertical core of sediment from a peat bog or lake and identifying and countingthe grains preserved within its many layers, a pollen diagram can be created and a timesequence of the vegetation history of the surrounding area reconstructed.

Pollen incorporated into accumulating bog and lake sediments originates from vegetation froma wide surrounding area. Traditional pollen analyses from these sediments providereconstructions of vegetation composition on the landscape scale. Irish woods often containnatural hollows filled with peat. Pollen preserved in these peaty hollows is of local origin,providing a record of the vegetation history of the wood itself rather than of the landscape ingeneral.

While the technique of pollen analysis is straightforward in principle, the correlation betweenthe fossil pollen preserved in a sedimentary basin and the vegetation from which that pollen isderived is complex. Some plants produce more pollen than others and their presence can beover represented based on a pollen count. The pollen produced by some plants is lighter thanthat produced by others and therefore can be transported greater distances, incorrectlysuggesting the presence of a particular plant in an area. Also, some pollen grains preservebetter than others. All of these factors are considered when interpreting the results of pollenanalysis.

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In conjunction with pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating, other sources used to reconstructBrackloon’s history include archaeological records and documented historical accounts. Archaeologyprovides information about settlement patterns from the Neolithic period, through the Bronze and IronAges and Early Christian periods. More recent history is gleaned from documentary sources, includingestate records and travellers’ accounts. Together, these tools give an insight into the role of man in theevolution of Brackloon Wood and in Irish woods in general.

What follows is the story of Brackloon Wood from its beginnings, at the close of the last Ice Age,right through to the present day.

ESTABLISHING ATIME SCALE FOR VEGETATION CHANGES

Once the plant species are identified from the pollen analysis, the time when the plants wereliving can be ascertained. This is done by determining the age of the sediment in which thepollen occurs, using a technique called radiocarbon dating.

Radioactive carbon, C-14, is produced continuously in the upper atmosphere. This unstablecarbon becomes mixed throughout the atmosphere and is absorbed by oceans and livingorganisms. Radioactive carbon is continually decaying but is replaced by new C-14 atoms ata constant rate. The ratio of stable carbon (C-12) to C-14 in the air and all living things at anygiven time is nearly constant.

As soon as a living organism dies it stops taking in new carbon. The unstable radioactivecarbon gradually disappears from the dead remains; only half the radioactive carbon atomspresent at any one time will still be radioactive after 5,730 years, the half life of C-14.

The age of the remains is calculated by measuring the proportion of radioactive carbon atomsto the proportion that are not radioactive. The older the sample the fewer radioactive carbonatoms that remain in it. With this technique it has been possible to calculate the ages of manyorganic remains found in Irish bogs.

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W O O D L A N DE V O L U T I O N A T

B R A C K L O O N

The pattern of woodland evolution at Brackloon in the aftermath of the Ice Age broadly mirrors that ofthe rest of the country. The transition from the late glacial period to the beginning of the Holocene wasmarked by the expansion of crowberry heath and juniper scrub. This treeless phase lasted until about10,400 years ago, when the first birch and willow woodland appeared in the locality. Crowberry andjuniper disappeared shortly thereafter, probably due to competition from birch. Hazel was the next treeto appear. It invaded the area 10,100 years ago, and within 300 years became dominant locally,displacing the birch and the willow.

Over the following 1,500 years the composition of the woodland vegetation gradually became morediverse with the expansion of pine, elm, Rosaceae (the family to which roses and hawthorn belong),poplar and finally oak. With the diversification of the vegetation came the development of high forest.High forest at Brackloon was at its most pronounced between 9,000 and 6,700 years ago, with oak, elmand hazel the dominant trees. Pine was most abundant between 8,850 and 6,950 years ago, although itdoes not appear to have been an important tree locally.

As plants and animals colonised the country following the melting of the ice, so too humans beganto arrive. The first Mesolithic people came to Ireland over 9,000 years ago and would have encounteredan extensively forested landscape. These people were hunter-gatherers, leading a nomadic existence.They used stone, wooden or bone tools in their day-to-day tasks and had no knowledge of potterymaking or use of metal. They survived by hunting, fishing and the use of wild plants. Clearance of landfor agriculture was a long way away.

The earliest indicator of man’s presence in Co Mayo is a Bann flake found in the Urlaur/Kilmoveearea in the east of the county. Bann flakes are so named because thousands of these flakes of flint were

recovered along the valley of the River Bann in Northern Ireland, where some of the earliest settlerslived. Many archaeologists believe that these flakes served as all-purpose hunting and fishing knives,and they are associated with the Later Mesolithic period, 7,500–5,500 BP (before present). No evidenceof the presence of Mesolithic man has been uncovered in Brackloon or in surrounding areas.

Around 6,000 years ago the climate of Ireland became wetter and warmer than it is today. Thisclimatic shift had major implications for the composition of the vegetation throughout the country. Thewetter conditions would have caused loss of soil fertility due to leaching of soil nutrients and wouldalso have resulted in waterlogging. At Brackloon, the first changes in the vegetation, which signalledthe beginning of a decrease in local forest cover, occurred around this time. A decline in hazel and elmoccurred, in conjunction with an increase in alder. Alder became prominent in swamp vegetationaround the margins of Brackloon Lough, probably within a short space of time. The decline in hazeland elm may also be attributed to the consequent deterioration in soil conditions.

Culturally, the period from about 7,000 to 4,000 BP saw a gradual transition from the nomadichunter-gatherer existence to a more settled way of life throughout the country, with agriculturalpractices becoming increasingly important. The first significant human-induced changes in Ireland’svegetation occurred during the Neolithic Period (5,700–4,000 BP), with the arrival of the first farmers.Woodland cover began to decline as trees were cut down to make way for agricultural activity.

A shift in vegetation composition at Brackloon around this time is signalled by the first appearanceof ash and its subsequent expansion, coupled with the increased dominance of grasses and plantain andthe increase in yew. These species are intolerant of shade, and their arrival suggests that the woodland,which at this time was dominated by oak, became more open in structure.

The expansion of grasses and plantain in the pollen record 5,580 years ago is the first potentialevidence for Neolithic activity at Brackloon. The changes in species composition indicate clearance ofwoodland and a resultant spread in herbaceous vegetation. This clearance was probably associated withanimal husbandry rather than arable farming. No cereal pollen was found in the pollen record duringthis episode, or indeed during any subsequent period, indicating that cereal cultivation was never animportant activity at Brackloon.

The area of forest cleared at this time was probably quite small, but the transformation of Ireland’slandscape from one that was densely wooded to one almost completely devoid of forest had begun.

The tree that seems to have suffered most at this time was the elm. Its demise is now generallybelieved to have been caused by disease, possibly similar to what is known today as Dutch ElmDisease. It is noteworthy that the classic ‘elm decline’, recorded distinctly in pollen records throughoutIreland 5,100 years ago, is not obvious in the Brackloon Lough record. This disease clearly did notaffect the elm population at Brackloon, perhaps because it was isolated from other diseased

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populations. At Brackloon, declines did occur but these were recorded about 1,500 years before andafter the general date for elm decline in Ireland.

Ash increased in dominance at Brackloon 4,800 years ago, suggesting that the area wassubsequently abandoned, possibly in connection with shifting agriculture. This was followed by arenewed expansion of grasses and plantain, coupled with a decline in elm and hazel. An expansion inbirch also occurred, indicating the re-appearance of Neolithic or Early Bronze Age activity in the localarea. Grass abundance increased to levels not previously seen and plantain became more common. Thiswould indicate that the local clearances were more extensive in scale and more permanent. However,the simultaneous increase in birch suggests that cleared areas were subsequently recolonised by thistree. A constant cycle of woodland clearance and recolonisation by birch can be envisaged.

Openings or clearings in the forest would probably have been used as grazing areas for domesticanimals. They may, however, also have resulted from the local extraction of wood. The increase inhuman activity suggests a growth in population in the area, although there may not have been fixedlocal settlements at that time.

Brackloon and its surrounding townlands are rich in archaeological sites, confirming a stronghuman presence in the area from at least the early Bronze Age. The recent Croagh Patrickarchaeological survey, directed by archaeologist Leo Morahan, has revealed further, hithertounrecorded, evidence of extensive prehistoric settlement in the general area.

Early prehistoric activity is suggested by the presence of impressive cairns on the shoulders ofCroagh Patrick. These large burial mounds of earth (tumuli) or stone (cairns) or a combination of both

are thought to have their origin in the LateNeolithic/Early Bronze Age.

A pre-bog field system, uncovered in thenearby townland of Owenwee, with itsassociated circular enclosure, could possiblydate from the Neolithic Period. The fieldsystem is indicative of community fencing,similar, but on a much smaller scale, to thatuncovered at the Céide fields in north Mayo byProfessor Seamas Caulfield. We may neverknow if the initial tree felling at Brackloon inNeolithic times was the work of a fewindividuals, or a larger-scale co-operativeeffort.

An ard, an early form of plough.

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The Bronze Age (4,000–2,250 BP) saw a continued assault on Irish woodlands. Bronze Age settlersbrought with them a knowledge of metalworking, which they used in the manufacture of tools andweapons. Pollen records from this period indicate that there was an increasing area of land undercultivation and pasture, facilitated probably by the introduction of an early form of plough, or ard, madeof wood.

During the period between 4,525 and 2,065 BP there was a further opening up of the woodlandcover at Brackloon. Birch, grasses, heather and plantain all increased during this time, coincident withfurther reductions in hazel, elm and pine. The pollen assemblage from this period suggests theappearance of open areas of pasture, which were recolonised by opportunistic trees such as birch, ashand yew. The expansion of bracken 4,300 years ago most likely occurred on abandoned pasture. Thesevegetation changes would suggest an increase in human activity.

A mosaic of vegetation types including woodland, scrub and open herbaceous vegetation probablyexisted in Brackloon at this time. It was then perhaps that the vegetation was at its most diverse, bothin terms of species diversity and structure. A constant disturbance regime helped to maintain this

PEAT DEVELOPMENT

The development of many of our blanket bogs began during the Bronze Age. Organic soils orpeats form wherever growth of vegetation exceeds the rate at which it decomposes. Peatusually grows under conditions of almost continuous saturation with water, which curtailsmovement of oxygen through the soil. Peat initiation is therefore closely linked with soilhydrology and the spread of blanket bog is often attributed to soil deterioration. The removalof trees from the landscape combined with the high rainfall led to waterlogging in many of oursoils, resulting in the accumulation of peaty sediments.

As the peat accumulated, stone walls of Neolithic settlements were gradually overgrown andpreserved beneath it. Peat cutting has resulted in the discovery of extensive areas enclosed bystone walls. Best documented are the Céide Fields of north Mayo, where the remains ofextensive field systems laid out during the Neolithic have been discovered beneath the bog. Itis likely that many more of these ancient field systems, which did not have a protectivecovering of peat, were destroyed during field clearing operations.

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diversity. Thereafter, continuous human impact in the area is evident. Cycles of vegetation clearanceand recolonisation by birch lasted until 2,000 years ago.

Archaeological features in and around the wood attest to continual human impact from at least theearly Bronze Age. Within Brackloon townland there are what appear to be the remnants of a megalithicstructure. Locals referred to a large collection of rocks, 10 m from the edge of the Owenwee River, asa ‘giant’s grave’. Field clearance in the late 1950s removed them. During the Croagh PatrickArchaeological Survey as many as five fulachta fiadh or burnt mound sites were discovered in thevicinity of this possible tomb.

The first definitive (dated) archaeological evidence of permanent human settlement in theBrackloon area comes from a fulacht fiadh at Knappagh. Charcoal from this prehistoric cooking sitehas been dated to 3,000 BP. Many of these burnt mounds have been recorded in the locality, with themajority likely to date to the second millennium BC. Half are situated on or close to the edge of flowingstreams or drains, with the remainder on the edge of former turloughs or damp areas. Most examplesare fully intact and conform to the familiar horseshoe plan.

FULACHTA FIADH

Associated with Bronze Age or later domestic activity are the many fulachta fiadh or burntmound sites found in abundance throughout the country. These prehistoric cooking sitesusually survive as low mounds of burnt and shattered stone and charcoal. They are usuallysituated beside streams, which provided the water to fill a stone or timber trough. Stones wereheated on a nearby fire and placed in the trough to boil the water. Over time, the discardedburnt stones accumulated in a characteristic horseshoe shape around the trough.

A standing stone also occurs within the wood. Standing stones are among the most numerous of themonuments in the area. This irregular stone stands 1.5 m tall, is 1.25 m wide and 0.3 m thick. It isaligned NNE-SSW. Just 32 m to the west of it is a taller stone (1.8 m) of similar width and thickness,tilting to the north east. However, doubts exist concerning their antiquity. In some cases it can bedifficult to distinguish a standing stone from naturally occurring stones or those that have been placedas scratching stones for cattle in modern times.

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Brackloon Standing Stone.

STANDING STONES

Standing stones generally vary from 0.5 m to over 2 m in height. They have been erected sincethe Neolithic period, but it appears they became popular during the Bronze and Iron Age. Thefunction of standing stones largely remains a mystery, possibly marking ritual or ceremonialsites. Some have been found to mark burials, while others may be territorial markers, orpossibly they recorded important places in the landscape where some event took place.

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The Iron Age (300 BC to AD 300) has proven enigmatic for archaeologists; very few artefactsdating from this period have been found in Ireland. An expansion of woodland occurred during thisperiod, with a gradual fading away of evidence of agriculture. Weeds of cultivation disappeared fromthe pollen record first, followed by cereals. Bracken, grass and plantain also declined. At the same timehazel pollen increased, followed by increases in ash, elm and oak.

Agriculture expanded again dramatically around AD 300. Grass, plantain and bracken rose sharply,accompanied by the reappearance of cereals and weeds of cultivation. Elm and ash fell back fromrelatively high values and hazel fell markedly.

Dating from this period are the many ringforts, where individual family units dwelt. The remains ofthese dwellings are visible throughout the Irish landscape today. Their ubiquity indicates a highpopulation density during this period. Clearance of woodland was necessary for agriculture to supportthis increasing population.

RINGFORTS

Ringforts are the predominant monument type from the Early Christian Period (AD300–1000) and are the most widespread and recognisable field monument in Ireland. Theyserved as habitation sites for generations. Usually circular in shape (plan), their diameterranges from 25 m to 50 m. The material used in their construction depends on the localgeology or geography. Ringforts enclosed by earthen banks are referred to as raths, whilethose enclosed by stone are known as cashels. They can have as many as three sets ofconcentric enclosing banks or walls, thereby increasing the defences. In some cases, especiallywhen there is more than one bank, the earthworks may have been a representation of thewealth or social status of the inhabitants.

Ringforts were constructed as permanent residences and were used when necessary for thetemporary housing of livestock. Pastoral farming was the mainstay of Early Christian Ireland,with animals kept principally for milk and hides. Houses took up a variable area of the fort’sinterior —much of the remainder may have been used to keep animals penned in overnight orduring prolonged periods of inclement weather or enemy raids. The earthworks may also haveacted as a defence against wild animals. As a general rule of thumb, entrances to the forts areon the side opposite to the prevailing westerly winds. Ringforts are usually located on well-drained land.

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SOUTERRAINS

Souterrains (from the French sous, meaning ‘under’ and terre meaning ‘earth’) areunderground rooms cut into the rock or earth, and entered through a narrow opening at groundlevel. They are often found within ringforts and generally date from the Early Christian period.They are generally believed to have been used as domestic storage areas or as temporaryhabitations or refuges.

View of entrance to the souterrain in the ringfort at Brackloon.

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Early Christian SettlementHuman activity in Brackloon was most intense in the period between 2,000 and 700 years ago.Woodland cover was lower during this time than it had been previously and there were many open areasof pasture within the wood. The pollen record shows an increase in the abundance of grasses, plantain,heather and bracken once more, coupled with a decline in hazel, oak, elm and yew. These vegetationchanges indicate renewed clearances and perhaps an increase in grazing as suggested, in particular, bythe decline in yew, a species intolerant of grazing.

This period of intense human activity, lasting 1,300 years, appears to have had the most severeimpact on the local vegetation. An overall increase in human population in the Brackloon area duringthis time can be envisaged, and perhaps the appearance of permanent settlements locally. The beginningof this period may be contemporaneous with the construction and occupation of the ringfort inBrackloon Wood, the remains of which are still visible today. Indeed, the remains of numerous ringfortsin the locality reflect a high concentration of settlement in the area generally during this period.

The dearth of cereal pollen in the local pollen record suggests that the farmers in Brackloon weremore concerned with animal husbandry than with arable agriculture. To facilitate more efficientfarming practice in a landscape sustaining an ever-increasing population, tree clearing operations musthave been widespread at this time.

Located on fairly high ground in the centre of Brackloon Wood, the bivallate, or two-walled, cashelhas an internal diameter of 25 m. Both the inner and outer walls survive as collapsed spreads of stone,with an intervening fosse or ditch 2 m wide, with no original facing in evidence. Between the west andnorth, the spread of stones, which formed the outer wall, is best defined, and here the intervening fosseis also most obvious. The entrance, 2 m wide, is located in the western sector of the ringfort.

A souterrain, known to locals as ‘the cave’, occurs within the cashel. The souterrain is located in thesouth western sector. It consists of two distinct elements. The first, a passage-cum-chamber reaches1.2 m high and is 1.5 m wide internally, and contains a small vent at roof level. A narrow ‘creep’provides access to the second chamber. This chamber reaches 1.8 m in height and 2.5 m in widthinternally, and contains a well-built alcove in one of its walls. The construction method practised wastrenching followed by corbelled building, though some natural stone outcrop forms part of the northand east walls of the second chamber.

Tóchar Phádraig, or (St) Patrick’s Causeway, the Christian pilgrim road to Croagh Patrick, alsopasses close by Brackloon Wood. It was in use before the arrival of St Patrick. It is believed that thepath was originally a major route, capable of carrying wheeled traffic, leading from the seat of theKings of Connacht at Cruachan, Co Roscommon, to Croagh Patrick, or Cruachan Aigli, as it wasknown in pre-Christian times.

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B R A C K L O O N I NT H E L A S T F E W

C E N T U R I E S

Woodland cover in Ireland continued to decline over the following centuries of the first millenniumAD. There has been much debate over the extent of woodland surviving by 1600. The literature of thatperiod leaves us in no doubt but that significant woodland clearance occurred during the 16th and 17th

centuries, chiefly for export as timber and for charcoal production. Writing in 1652, Gerald Boate laidthe blame on the English, who “made great havoc of the woods...…did, by degrees, greatly diminishthe woods in all places where they were masters”.

At Brackloon, woodland vegetation recovered somewhat around 700 years ago. Grass and plantaindeclined and beech and pine appeared locally. Pine was particularly abundant from 1400 to 1600. Thismay have occurred as a result of a decline in local land use, as indicated by the decrease in grasses,plantain, heather and bracken. The local pine wood lasted for about 300 years, after which it wascleared, probably felled for timber or charcoal. At the beginning of this phase, beech, a non-nativespecies, was introduced into the wood.

Many industries used wood or charcoal as fuel. The best documented of these, and perhaps thebiggest, was iron smelting. Production of charcoal to fuel local ironworks was unquestionably a majorconsumer of Irish woodland in the 17th and 18th centuries. An ironworks located at Knappagh, not farfrom Brackloon, was in operation at that time.

In England, the demand for cast iron was such that prices for timber to make charcoal rose sharply.The demand for charcoal in the Medieval Period had already greatly denuded large areas of forest and,as early as the 13th century, measures had been taken to limit the destruction of the forests. In the 17th

century therefore, English iron masters sought alternative sources of timber and Ireland became thefocus of their attentions.

Charcoal was produced mainly from coppiced timber. Many tree species will coppice when cutdown, that is a number of stems will sprout from the cut stump. These stems can be harvested on arotational basis providing a regular supply of timber. Coppicing as a system of forest management waspractised widely in England, and since most of the iron masters were English, would have been knownhere.

Surviving charcoal hearths in woodlands are usually circular low platforms about 8 m in diameter.Beneath the leaf litter, the flat floor is usually covered with debris of charcoal, from which the speciesof wood used can be ascertained; mainly oak, hazel and birch. The charcoal present in the soil atBrackloon is residual charcoal that remained on the forest floor and was subsequently buried by soil-forming processes. Relict charcoal hearths are conspicuous in woodlands today by a change in theforest stand structure, a general absence of understorey vegetation and blackened charcoal-rich soil.The microtopography is flat and canopy cover open.

Although wood was plentiful and cheap in Ireland, encouraging the growth of the smelting industryhere, there had been no existing tradition of large-scale smelting. The technology was thereforeimported by settling English iron makers. Between 1600 and 1800 over 160 iron-making furnaces wereknown to have existed around Ireland.

CHARCOALMAKING

Charcoal making was a craft traditionally carried out within woodlands, as charcoal is lighterand easier to transport than the wood from which it is made. Charcoal making usually tookplace during the summer. The production of charcoal involved the clearance of an area offorest, often near a road or path. The wood was cut into manageable sizes, pieces 0.5 m to 1m in length, in late winter or spring and allowed to dry for several months. The wood was thentransported to the hearth or charcoal production area. Dry low-lying flat areas with convenientaccess would have been favoured for charcoal production. The wood was arranged verticallyand sods placed over and around the heap to restrict oxygen supply. The wood was ignited andallowed to smoulder to expel water and increase the calorific value. It was then transported tothe furnace. Approximately 100 tonnes of wood produces 25 tonnes of charcoal.

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IRON SMELTING IN THE 17thAND 18thCENTURIES

Fragmentary records of historical Irish ironworks reveal a thriving industry in the 17th and 18th

centuries. Iron making was transformed in the 15th century by the invention of the blastfurnace. The blast furnace rapidly replaced the manually operated furnace, which had beenknown to man for at least 4,000 years. The main feature of the blast furnace was the blastingof air from a powerful blowing machine, consisting of two sets of bellows arranged to blowalternately and driven by cams on the shaft of a waterwheel. This new furnace could blow aircontinuously, day and night, in huge volumes.

Although charcoal, the same fuel, was used, it was now possible to attain much highertemperatures. For the first time iron could be melted and run off the furnace as molten castiron. This molten iron was run into depressions in a bed of sand and allowed to harden. Thesedepressions and the channel that fed them, shaped like a comb, resembled a sow with its litter,and gave the name pigs to the cast iron ingots produced in this way. Hence the expression ‘pigiron’. Pig iron ingots could be re-melted and moulded by pouring into a box of sand, or twohalf boxes, moulded in the shape of the required object, where it would eventually solidify.

Cast iron contains up to 4.5% carbon, is crystalline in structure, and consequently very brittle.In order to be worked by the smith it has to be refined into wrought iron. The cast iron wasreheated at very high temperatures, maintained by water-powered bellows, to melting point ina ‘finery’ furnace. Whilst in molten form it was continuously stirred by the forge workers todrive off unwanted carbon and impurities, leaving the iron to congeal in the hearth into whatwas known as a ‘bloom’. The bloom was then further purified by reheating, and forged intobars under the blows of large water-powered forge hammers. Approximately 1.7 tonnes ofcharcoal were required to produce 1 tonne of wrought iron.

Furnaces were loaded from the top with charcoal fuel and the iron ore to be converted. Theytherefore tended to be constructed alongside hills with a short bridge linking the top of thefurnace with the hillside.

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Schematic drawing of a 17th century blast furnace.

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Iron, usually in the form of iron oxides, is a commonly occurring natural element. Three types ofiron ore were used in 17th century Ireland. Irish ore was found in both bedded masses and in veins. Bogiron ore was, as its name suggests, dug out of bogs. Some works, especially around Cork and Kerry,imported English ore, while some on the west coast used Spanish ore. The 1802 Statistical Survey ofMayo mentions vast quantities of iron ore in the Barony of Murrisk, in which Brackloon is located.

Colonel John Browne established iron works at Knappagh in 1687, which continued in operationwell into the 18th century. The ironworks employed 150 men. He was supplying cannon balls, iron andtools to the garrisons of Athlone and Galway; at the same time he had orders to requisition men andprovisions for the army and for the garrisons at Galway and Inishbofin. One reference mentions thatthe tools, arms and cannon balls supplied by Colonel Browne to the garrison at Sligo consisted of 220shovels, 56 spades, 85 pickaxes and 965 cannon balls of three to five pounds in weight. A memorandumaccompanying this list, dated April 1690, lists other items and the prices charged, including handgrenades, muskets with firelocks, firelocks without barrels, broad speararms and unground swordblades. The foundry at Knappagh, being on John Browne’s estate, must have been the focal point forthe manufacture of the tools referred to above, and the immediate surroundings have heavyconcentrations of iron slag, along with stone and other materials which appear to have been vitrified.In common with iron works all over the country, those at Knappagh would have been fuelled bycharcoal produced from local timber.

WESTPORT HOUSE AND THE BROWNES

Four hundred years ago John Browne, a son of Sir Anthony Browne of Cowdray Castle inSussex, arrived in Mayo. For over the last three hundred years Westport House has been thehome of his descendants; Colonel John Browne, his great-grandson, was born in 1638. Heacquired vast estates in Mayo and Galway, and in 1679–83 built the first Westport House onthe site of a ruined O’Malley Castle, which was destroyed by Cromwell. John Browne was astaunch Jacobite and took a prominent part in supporting the cause of James II in Ireland. Hewas appointed Lord Lieutenant in Mayo in 1689. He maintained ironworks at Knappagh,Westport and Foxford. The present Eleventh Marquess of Sligo is a direct descendant.

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Brackloon appears to have been extensively used for the production of charcoal. Abundant charcoaloccurs in the soils of the wood, either dispersed through the soil or as distinct layers at various depthsin the soil profile. Relict charcoal hearths are also in evidence. Charcoal pieces recovered from one ofthese hearths have been radiocarbon dated to 300 years BP and 500 years BP, indicating that there wasprobably intense activity in the wood.

Among the Westport Estate Papers is an Article of Agreement made between John of Kinturk, CoMayo, and John and Darby Murphy of Ballendaff, Co Wicklow, colliers, for annual delivery of 500 tonsof charcoal at Westport or Knappa, dated 1683/84. The document states that the Murphys agree todeliver ‘yearly and every year for five years next after the date here to deliver unto said John Browneat Westport and Knappa or either of them, 500 loads of good and well made charcoal fit for the furnacethere and shall expend no more wood for the doing thereof than the best collier the said JohnBrowne…doth or shall employ’. In return John Browne is to pay them ‘as good a rate as he gives toany other collier coaling at the like distance wood or ground’. If John Browne desires ‘he can get thewood cut and coarded and the coal carried and to deduct out of the price what will be paid for cuttingand coarding and carrying the said wood’.

In a book of accounts relating to the ‘ironworks and other matters 1687–94’, there is mention ofcutting of wood at Brackloon. In the book are tables of coal delivered. The first table relates to old stockand gives the name of the wood, the person and load and barrels. The second table refers to new stock.

There are 25 entries in this table relating to a number of different woods. Apart from Brackloon,other woods in the area which are listed include Feagh, Killmore, Derrylea, Bofara, Knappaghbeg,Killintiff, Claddee, Aylenagaple and Carrowkennedy.

WESTPORT ESTATE PAPERS

The Westport Estate Papers, numbering in excess of 20,000 documents, were acquired by theNational Library in 2001 from Jeremy Ulick Browne, the 11 th Marquess of Sligo. Among thecollection of his family’s papers are documents and manuscripts spanning 400 years, from theearliest, dated 1541, from the time of Grace O’Malley, or Granuaile, the Pirate Queen, to theturn of the 20 th century. The papers record the role of the Brownes in Irish society. The papersare currently being catalogued by the library and are due to be available for consultation bythe public in 2005.

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'Old stock sent in by Hugh Hanley when he was undertaker of ye Bloomery in Knappa the year 1692’.

Date Whente The person Load Bar4 Mar Brackloon Upp Roger Gauan 6 16

more to Westport 1 21693

Brackloon Lower John Noone 2 43 June Brackloon Upp Taige Kelly 4 1210 June Brackloon Lower Roger Gauan 2 8

Brackloon Lower Roger Gauan 2 8

Coal new stock delivered since 'Mithas'1 1693 weekly at Knappa.Date The Wood Undertaker Collier Carrier Load Bar1693Nov 4 Brackloon Jo[ ] Cunnut Pat O Hugh - 3 12 old

Wm Edy2 19

Nov 18 Brackloon Roger Gauan Pat O Hugh 2 19 old

1The feast day of St Mattheus occurred on 21 September and must be what is referred to as 'Mithas' in the table.

SOURCE: National Library of Ireland - Westport Estate Papers MS 40,915/3.

The tranquil appearance of many of these woods today belies their industrial past. Visitors in the17th century would have seen plumes of smoke emanating from the charcoal hearths, and the blackenedfaces of those who had to remove and deliver the charcoal to the customer!

Population pressure increased in the region in the period leading up to the Great Famine of 1845–47,as evidenced by the ubiquitous lazy bed (relict cultivation ridges) features in the landscape. Populationincreases from 1700 to 1840 would have meant further reductions in tree cover with every corner ofland farmed.

Young, in his Tour of Ireland, 1776–79, wrote about Westport and the Estate:

…It is very remarkable, that all the wild mountains in this country have marks, and to agreat height of former culture, mounds of fences, and the ridges of the plough. LordAltamont’s great grandfather found the estate a continued forest; in 1650, those woodswere of much more than a century growth, so that no cultivation could have been hereprobably of 300 years. There is a tradition in the country that it was depopulated by theplague, and upon that the wood sprung up which formed those forests. At present there isno woods on any of the hills, except immediately about Westport…

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Copy of Articles of Agreement made between John Browne of Kinturk, Co Mayo, and John and Darby Murphy ofBallendaff, Co Wicklow, colliers, for annual delivery of 500 loads of charcoal at Westport or Knappa for five years,dated 7 March 1683/4.

SOURCE: National Library of Ireland - Westport Estate Papers MS 40,897/1(3).

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The Bogs Commissioners’ report of the area (1813/14) states:

…Forty years ago the mountains in the neighbourhood of Westport were in a state verysimilar to that which the mountains of Tyrawley and Erris now exhibit. Many thousandacres of these once dreary wastes are now in a comparatively high state of cultivation,owing almost entirely to the prudent and liberal arrangements made by the late Marquisof Sligo, who gave the people long leases at low rents, finding them disposed to give theirlabour towards the reclamation of waste lands, provided that they and their children mightbe allowed to enjoy the fruits of their industry.The system of improvement usually adopted in the mountains of Westport, was, first to cutoff the water from the mountain above, next to plough up and burn the surface, andafterwards to lime it. The whole of the lime that has been laid out on the face of thesemountains, was carried in panniers on horses backs from the sea shore at Westport, whichis the only place in the country where it can be procured.The Westport Mountains, like those of Erris, are chiefly composed of mica slate; and theeffect which a small portion of lime has in fertilizing a soil arising from the decom-position of such rocks, is almost miraculous…

Until the middle of the last century, lime was burned by most farmers and was applied to the landto improve the soil and used for whitewashing buildings. The abundance of limekilns is evident fromthe first Ordnance Survey of 1839.

Remains of barely perceptible cultivation ridges occur adjacent to a ruined cottage which wasinhabited until the early decades of the 20th century. A member of the Lynch family, the last to residein the cottage, is still alive and lives in Britain.

A wood ranger was employed for a time at Brackloon. A copy of the contract of employmentbetween the ranger, James Sommerville, and the Marquis of Sligo dated 1895, survives among theWestport Estate Papers. In it, Sommerville agrees to act as forester and caretaker for the Marquis ofSligo of the woods on his estate and caretaker of the cottage and garden in Brackloon Wood for the sumof four pounds, three shillings and four pence (about €5.30) per month.

An old millrace runs through the eastern part of the wood. Water from the Owenwee River wasdiverted through the wood to work a number of mills in the area. The Ordnance Survey 6" map of 1839shows three mills downstream from the wood. Mills for wool, bleach, flour and corn all operated atdifferent times. Ruins of some are still standing today. They, along with the iron works, are testamentto thriving historical industrial activity in the locality.

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Copy of employment agreement between fourth Marquis and James Sommerville, 1895.

SOURCE: National Library of Ireland - Westport Estate Papers MS 41,027/1.

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Descriptions of the Lots and Sublots for the townland of Brackloon were recorded in the GriffithValuation of 1851. Descriptions were made to value the land for rateable purposes. The lots relating toBrackloon Wood include 7, 11, 12, 13 and 14.

Descriptions of most of the main lots are dominated by terms such as shrubby, rocky, heathy andboggy. The valuations of the main lots range from 3 to 7 shillings per acre, which places them at thelower end of countrywide valuations: < 1 shilling for deep bog to > 30 shillings for the best of tillageland in Leinster and Munster.

RELICT CULTIVATION RIDGES

Relict cultivation ridges or ‘lazy beds’ are a feature often observed within old woodlands,usually in the vicinity of ruined dwellings. They are visible throughout the countryside. Manyare located where woodland vegetation occurred before it was cleared to make way foragriculture in the latter part of the 18th century. After clearance, these sites were used forgrowing potatoes and oats, until their general abandonment (around 1850) after the famine,although they continued in use in some areas until relatively recently. During their preparationfor growing crops, the top sod was lifted and inverted and manure incorporated in the soil aswell as seaweed (in areas close by the sea), ashes (from soil burning) and possibly lime. Sinceabandonment, many of these sites have been used for rough or marginal pastureland but stillexhibit a distinctive ridge and furrow or lazy-bed microtopography.

1901 CENSUS - TOWNLAND OF BRACKLOON

Year Population Houses1841 128 181851 109 201861 49 101871 48 71881 59 81891 43 71901 34 71911 33 7

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NO. OF LOT DESCRIPTION OF LOTS QUANTITY AMOUNTOF LAND

A. R. P. £ s. d.7 Shrubby and green

boggy pasture injuredby the overflowingof the mill race.Also water

91

01

1820

2 3 3

11 Rocky heathy moory pastureAlso rocky bad arable

141

10

320

104

109

12Moory and GravellyMixed arable 4 2 23 1 7 10

13 Rocky gravelly clayeyarable on a rockygravelly subsoilAlso rocky pasturealso waste at houses

666

223

1100

3 13 114

14 Gravelly moory rockyarable very unevenon a rocky gravelly subsoilAlso boggy pastureAlso rocky and green pastureAlso waste at houses

18133

2000

1300

20

6 0

6

930

4 rood = 1 acre, 40 perches = 1 rood, 1 Acre = 0.3 ha,£1 = €1.27, £1 = 20s, 1s = 12d

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Route of millrace still visible but overgrown today.

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Brackloon Wood as depicted on the first edition of the 6" map series of the Ordnance Survey (1839).

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Ruins of wood ranger’s cottage.

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OLD IRISH TREE LISTIn common with other European countries, the importance of trees and woodlands in the Irishlandscape has long been recognised and attempts at woodland and tree conservation are not new.In ancient Ireland trees were classified into various categories with a series of laws governing theiruse, and fines for damaging or cutting trees without the landowner’s permission. These laws arefound in the 8 th century law tract, Bretha Comaithchesa, or the Laws of Neighbourhood, and givethe importance of various trees in the landscape.

The laws recognise a hierarchy of trees or bushes, arranged in four classes according to theireconomic value: the airig fedo or nobles of the wood, aithig fedo or commoners of the wood, fodlafedo or lower divisions of the wood and losa fedo or bushes of the wood.

The economic importance of the seven ‘nobles of the wood’ is summarised in an old Irishcommentary on the law tract. The oak was included because of 'its acorn and its dignity', hazel for‘its nuts and its rods’, holly for ‘its grass for another and chariot shafts’, yew for ‘its nobleartefacts’, ash for ‘its support of a royal thigh and half material of a weapon’, pine for ‘its resin ina bowl’ and apple for ‘its fruit and its bark’.

Airig Fedonobles of the wood

oakhazelhollyyewashpineapple

Fodla Fedolower divisions of the wood

blackthornelder

spindlewhitebeam

arbutusaspen

juniperAithig Fedo

commoners of the wood

alderwillow

hawthornrowanbirchelm

cherry

Iosa Fedobushes of the wood

brackenbog myrtle

gorsebrambleheatherbroom

gooseberry

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T H E S O I L S B E N E A T HT H E T R E E S

Despite being underfoot and generally out of sight, soils have a long history of being the subject ofnotice and comment. Gerald of Wales (1185) used the words “soft and watery, rather than rocky, withmany woods and marshes, here and there some fine plains”. Four hundred years later Camden (1580)used the terms “barren, rough, hungry…many woods and mires, so many rivers” but within a hundredmore years Boate (1652) had castigated the English adventurers who had “made great havoc of thewoods”. These, and many like them, make no specific reference to Mayo, but there is every likelihoodthat some lands at least retained a protective woodland cover for another century or two. In the 1770sYoung found Lord Altamount reclaiming mountain land on his estate. The kinds of soils involved werenot described other than “heathy mountain land”, “wetness caused by lack clay” (leac liath, induratedsubsoil) and the benefits of draining. Commenting on the Westport area, Young wrote that the soil ingeneral is “a cold spewy, strong clay and loam” and curiously, that “the best lands in the country arethe improved moors”. The manures listed were farmyard manure, sea wrack (weed) and composts.

We know that soils are continuously changing and responding to their environment— losing bases,gaining bases, accumulating plant litter, releasing iron and other minerals and so on, but these changesare often overshadowed by man’s intervention such as lowering the watertable, burning the surface,adding liming agents and most particularly by digging and trenching.

In Brackloon, the archaeological evidence is that man has been using and altering the soils for manymillennia, and what we see in its soils today is a ‘snap-shot’ or record of some of the changes, majorand minor, inherited from the past.

The soils of Brackloon are acidic, being derived mainly from silica-rich parent materials. Theprincipal underlying rocks are schist and gneiss. A mosaic of different acid soil types occurs within the

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PODZOL

Podzols are strongly leached mineral soils, displaying well-defined horizons of depletion andaccumulation. They form mostly in high rainfall areas, on coarse-textured acid parent material,subject to ready leaching. They are characterised by a peaty surface organic O horizon.Beneath this is a leached ash-grey mineral E horizon, which in turn is underlain by a yellowishred B horizon, enriched in iron, aluminium and organic matter. The natural vegetationassociated with podzols is coniferous forest and heath and moorland, which promote thedevelopment of an extremely acid surface peaty layer or ‘mor’ humus. However, they alsooccur under semi-natural oak wood in Ireland.

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ACID BROWN EARTH

Brown earths are freely-draining loamy mineral soils. They have A, B and C (parent material)horizons but have little visible differentiation between the horizons, which are normally brownor reddish-brown in colour throughout the profile. The uniformly-coloured profile is due to thefact that there is little or no leaching. The middle or B horizon is weathered, but is only slightlyleached at most and has not collected materials moved in from elsewhere in the profile. Thereare two types of brown earth – alkaline brown earths, referred to simply as brown earths, andacid brown earths. Acid brown earths are derived from more acidic parent materials and can befound at higher elevations than the brown earths.

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PEATY GLEY

Peaty gleys are wet mineral soils with up to 45 cm of peat at the surface (more than 45 cm andthey are classified as peats). A feature of poorly draining gley soils is that, under periodic orpermanent waterlogging, the subsoil experiences a lack of oxygen within the pore space.Under these anaerobic conditions the insoluble iron oxides (which give the characteristicyellow, brown or reddish-brown colour to aerated soils) are reduced chemically and the ferriciron changed to ferrous iron prior to translocation from the soil profile. Minerals with iron inthe ferrous form impart a grey or bluish-grey colour to the subsoil. The gleying process is notnecessarily permanent and where it is intermittent, intense mottling with grey colours ischaracteristic. Where surface wetness is a feature throughout the year, the horizons aregenerally rich in organic matter, often intergrading into peats.

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wood, ranging from relatively fertile acid brown earth soils to podzols to peaty gleys, each with theirown distinctive properties and features.

The distribution of these soil types within the wood is largely determined by the topography. Whilevariations in soil type are usually not obvious at the ground surface, a change in topography or in thenatural vegetation may indicate a change in underlying soil type.

Acid brown earths tend to occur on the hilltops (about 100 m above sea level). Podzols are confinedto relatively dry areas. Brown podzolic soils, intermediate between podzols and brown earths, occur onshoulder slopes and near foot slope positions. Gley soils have developed in poorly drained areas andhollows. Near the river the water table is high as a result of streams originating on higher ground,leading to seasonal overbank flooding, waterlogging and the development of peaty gleys.

Podzol exhibiting two phases of soil development.

Past human disturbance is recorded in the soil profiles. Gleyed podzols are the dominant soils in andaround the vicinity of the charcoal hearths at Brackloon. These soils have been denuded of theirvegetation cover and with the export of charcoal there has been a net depletion/loss of bases. Thesesoils occur in an area generally dominated by more base-rich brown podzolic soils. The more degradednature of these soils, compared to the surrounding areas, is a legacy of historic charcoal production.

Some soil profiles in Brackloon exhibit distinct seams or layers of charcoal buried at depth inindividual profiles. A continuous seam of charcoal occurs at a depth of about 40 cm in a profile nearthe ringfort. Close to the river, a seam occurs in another profile at a depth of 25 cm. The occasionalburial of charcoal deposits at depth in these soils is a relict of natural perturbations (e.g. uprooting oftrees) that existed side-by-side with man’s activities such as cutting and coppicing.

As a result of windthrow a distinctive soil profile, exhibiting two phases of soil development, occursat Brackloon. Soil material deposited on top of the original podzolic profile has resulted in a secondupper sequence of horizons. This material, similar in composition to the buried material below — anamalgam of E, B, and C horizon material — was deposited on top of the original profile andhomogenised. Following colonisation by vegetation, the accumulation of acidic organic matter on thesurface and the decomposition of the organic matter, this material slowly became differentiated intohorizons. The upper sequence exhibits weaker podzolisation than the underlying profile. During thefirst phase of soil development most of the primary iron may already have been released and leached.A 4–5 cm thick charcoal seam, at a depth of 25 cm — the original soil surface, occupies the boundaryposition between the two horizon sequences and separates the two phases of soil development. Thischarcoal has been dated to 1,370–1,260 years BP. The upper zone of the humic podzol is thereforepedologically very young, younger than the subjacent charcoal. This profile enables one to quantify therate of soil formation under western Irish conditions.

Successive episodes of forest clearance in Ireland, dating from the time of the arrival of the firstfarmers over 5,000 years ago, to the relatively recent perturbations of the last few centuries, associatedwith timber export and fuel production, have all had degrading effects on the soil resource. However,it is likely that the first Neolithic farmers did not cause a net loss in soil fertility; their agriculturalactivities would only have scratched the surface of the soil, and when they moved to new grounds,secondary woodland would have reoccupied the site and gradually restored soil fertility. Late BronzeAge agriculture led to widespread clearance of forests in Ireland. However, this clearance was probablyconfined to the more fertile lowland areas, leaving the more remote mountainous regions intact. Theearliest evidence of human disturbance in the more remote woods dates from the early Iron Age.

The more recent clearances that took place during the last few centuries have caused increasedleaching and acidification of the soils and more intense podzolisation. This is illustrated at UraghWood, a native oak wood in south west Kerry, where changes in soil type were observed along a

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PIT-AND-MOUND TOPOGRAPHY

A feature of natural woodlands is the rough pit-and-mound topography, caused by the naturaluprooting of trees, or windthrow. This results in subsurface soil horizons being deposited ontop of the forest floor humus layers. Erosion and natural soil turnover gradually diminish bothmounds and pits, but even centuries after the windthrown trees have decayed, their presenceis still marked by shallow pit-and-mound sequences.

Evolution of a pit-and-mound sequence.

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transect through the wood. A gradual transition occurs from more base-rich soils, in an inaccessibleundisturbed section of the wood, to more acid soils in the most disturbed section of the wood. In certainconditions, tree clearances have resulted in the formation of iron pan features and/or peat accumulation.Within 350 years of the complete removal of tree cover from part of the Uragh site, a peat layer, 8 cmdeep, has accumulated on the mineral soil surface of an area of unenclosed marginal grazing land.

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V E G E T A T I O N O FB R A C K L O O N

Deciduous woodlands, especially oak woods, are among our most ecologically rich, interesting anddiverse habitats. They support an enormous variety of plant and animal life. Indeed, our oak trees havemore animal species associated with them than any other species in Ireland.

Structurally, woodland vegetation is arranged in more or less clearly defined horizontal layers. Onecan commonly distinguish a canopy of trees, beneath which is an understorey of small trees or shrubs.Below the understorey is the field or herb layer, usually dominated by herbaceous plants. The groundlayer is dominated by mosses.

Trees dominating the canopy at Brackloon include oak, birch, ash and rowan. Other trees occurringinclude elm and hawthorn. Holly and hazel form the understorey. Growing alongside these nativespecies are introduced tree species, mainly beech and horse chestnut.

Brackloon is not a uniform forest in terms of vegetation cover. Although classified as semi-naturalAtlantic oak woodland, at least 50 of the 74 ha of the wood were drastically altered through theestablishment of coniferous crops during the 1960s. The tree species planted were non-native speciessuch as Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, Sitka spruce and Norway spruce.

For management purposes the wood had been divided into 37 sub-compartments, each with adifferent management history. Some of these or small areas within them were unaffected by theplanting of conifers. These scattered stands, either with a sessile oak canopy or a mixed deciduouscanopy of ash and willow, over wet woodland ground flora, cover less than 20 ha of the wood andprovide the only living remnants at this site of the once prevalent natural woodland climax vegetationof the region.

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Although coniferous plantations fragmented the wood, the native woodland element and basic oakwoodland structure persisted in places, as has been previously outlined. As knowledge about Brackloonaccumulated and its ecological importance began to be recognised, the decision to restore the wood toclose to its former state was taken.

A management plan was drawn up to facilitate the restoration of the semi-natural status of the woodand maximise its natural biodiversity. Funding was secured in the late 1990s from the Forest Serviceunder their Woodland Improvement Scheme (WIS) to implement the plan. Although overallmanagement responsibility for the wood lies with Coillte, the WIS project was carried out inconjunction with Sylviron Ltd, a native woodland management company.

Around this time too, the importance of our native woodlands and the need for their conservationwas recognised by the government with the introduction of the Native Woodland Scheme. This scheme,launched by the Forest Service in 2001, aims to protect and enhance Ireland’s native woodlands.Brackloon acted as a pilot project for this scheme. It has proved to be a very valuable pilot site in thatmany of the management operations carried out are typical of those used in other native woodlands inthis scheme.

The first step in the restoration of the wood was the removal of the planted conifers. Most of thesehave now been cleared. Consequently, many clearfell areas, large and small, occur in the wood. Alongwith the conifers, non-native broadleaved species, sycamore and younger beech trees, were alsoremoved. However, older ‘veteran’ beech trees were left untouched for their recreational andbiodiversity value. A major element in the management of the wood and in the management of most ofour remaining native oak woods is the removal of the invasive shrub rhododendron. A cutting andcontrol programme was initiated, and approximately 20 ha have been cleared thus far.

Once the conifers had been removed, the next stage in the restoration of the native wood was toeither encourage the natural regeneration of native woodland or to plant native tree species. Bothapproaches have been adopted in different parts of the wood. Where natural regeneration occurred,seedlings were identified and marked and protected. Where it did not occur, planting has taken place.Only material of native provenance was planted, grown from seed collected either in the wood itself orfrom the neighbouring Eriff oak wood.

Oak seedlings have also been planted in areas between the main oak woodland, an intact area ofabout 11 ha, and outlying blocks of oak woodland. Reconnecting all areas of existing oak woodlandwill defragment the habitat. This is essential to the maintenance of biodiversity, as it will allow oak-dependent species to colonise newly-planted and regenerated areas. Overstorey native species such asash and Scots pine, in mixture with the secondary species related to that woodland type (e.g. hazel,rowan, holly, etc.), have also been planted. The aim is to create and recreate specific woodland types,suited to the site/soil type, particularly those that are impoverished and poorly represented.

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Narrow-leaved helleborine.

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The second distinct approach to woodland establishment adopted was to encourage the naturalsuccessionary phase. Suitable areas for regeneration were identified and non-native species removed,and in conjunction with a maintenance programme (including rhododendron control), these areas wereleft to be colonised naturally and to develop to climax forest.

Natural regeneration within the wood has been phenomenal, especially of birch and willow. Birchis known to be a soil improver, paving the way for the eventual arrival of other species. Respacing ofsome areas of natural birch regeneration has already been carried out.

To protect the wood and promote and facilitate the growth of seedlings and newly- planted trees,stock had to be removed from the wood and stock-proof fencing erected.

The density of the forest canopy affects the composition of the ground flora growing beneath it. AtBrackloon, the canopy is quite open, permitting the penetration of light to the woodland floor and thegrowth of a rich ground flora.

The most common ground vegetation species in the wood are great wood-rush, bilberry,honeysuckle, cow wheat, sweet vernal grass and common dog-violet. Hard fern is also found almost

Oak seedlings planted in clearfell area.

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Aerial photograph, Brackloon Wood and its surroundings.

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everywhere on the forest floor. Wetter areas contain yellow iris, watermint, water horsetail,meadowsweet and soft rush. The rare narrow-leaved helleborine, an orchid of damp woods also occurs.

In April, before the leaves reappear on the trees, vernal species such as wood sorrel and primrosetake advantage of the light and come into flower. As the emerging leaves in the canopy cast theirshadow on the woodland floor more shade-tolerant species, such as bluebells, blossom. Throughout thespring, seedlings push up through the leaf litter in search of patches of sunlight. Only in the gaps notovershadowed by the mature trees will they have a chance of growing. All over the woodland floor,thousands of seeds lie dormant, waiting for one of the large trees to fall and allow much-needed lightto reach them.

In Brackloon, the pattern of vegetation distribution is to a large extent dictated by soil type, whichin turn is influenced by topography. Hazel, ash and a few elms grow on the most fertile soils. Birch,rowan and holly occupy the poorest soils, with willow growing in the wetter areas nearest the river and

Areas from which conifers have been cleared are rapidly colonised by foxglove and rosebay willowherb.

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Bluebells begin to carpet the woodland floor in spring.

around the margins of Brackloon Lough. Sessile oak is found on all soil types.

Great wood-rush is a conspicuous component of the ground vegetation on the most acid soils.Wood sorrel and cow wheat are common here also. On acid brown earth soils, less acidophilousspecies such as herb robert and enchanter’s nightshade are dominant. Hazel occurs in areas where thesoil is less acid. Meadowsweet, soft rush, narrow-leaved helleborine and remote sedge are alsocommon in the wet areas.

The legacy of past human disturbance is ubiquitous throughout the wood, and evident today in thevegetation. Anthropogenic influence on both woody and herbaceous vegetation is reflected in the opencanopy, gaps in the vegetation and even-aged tree structure.

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The recent removal of conifers has created many clearfell areas in the wood. Gaps in the woodlandboth as a consequence of clearfelling and charcoal production have created suitable areas for certainspecies to thrive. Clearfell areas are the sole habitats for sheep’s sorrel, foxglove, rosebay willowherband Yorkshire fog. Wood sorrel occurs in abundance on clearfell areas and generally on areas open tothe sun. Permanent gaps where recurrent human intervention has occurred are covered with bracken, avigorous fern, which turns golden brown in the autumn. It can grow to 2 m high.

Seven hundred and seventy five different species of plants and fungi occur in Brackloon Wood.Closer examination may increase this number. Most of the species are lichens, mosses and fungi —groups unsurprisingly abundant in an oak wood kept moist by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.

The different species of moss and moss-like liverworts forming a carpet on the woodland floorinclude tamarisk feather moss, lawn moss and oak-trunk moss. These are not confined to the groundbut also form a blanket on the tree trunks and branches. Here they are known as epiphytes, obtainingtheir nutrients and moisture, not from the soil, but directly from the atmosphere. In western Ireland, thetrunks of oaks are usually covered by the robust common oak-trunk moss.

Other small plants such as lichens and some ferns accompany the bryophytes. The humid climateand high degree of cloud cover in western Ireland assist the growth of these shade-tolerant ferns andbryophytes. As in so many oceanic woods, the boughs of Brackloon’s oaks are clothed with masses ofpolypody ferns.

Many large mature windthrown oaks, a natural feature of ancient and semi-natural woodland, are tobe found in the wood. These trees, supporting extensive epiphyte communities, provide important deadwood habitats.

Compared with the Killarney oak woods, Brackloon is not exceptionally species-rich in lichens.This is mainly due to its less extreme oceanic climate and its more turbulent regional woodland history.However, some sensitive mosses and liverworts that can only survive under a continuous tree cover

EPIPHYTES

Epiphytes are plants, such as mosses and lichens, which grow on other plants but are notparasites. Epiphytes are sensitive to changes in the environment and the epiphytic species mostsensitive to environmental change occur in the canopy. At Brackloon a study of the lichen floraof a mature oak tree revealed 52 species of lichen.

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occur. Botanist, Francis Rose’s New Index of Ecological Continuity (NIEC) utilises 70 lichen speciesas an indicator to assess woodland importance on the basis of their lichen flora. Brackloon supports 30of the lichen species on the NIEC, which implies that the wood is of conservation importance.

Sites that have been continuously wooded since 1600 are termed ancient. Despite recurrent humandisturbance in the wood a number of ancient woodland species persist in the ground flora. Theseinclude cow wheat, wood melic, bluebell, early dog-violet, sweet vernal grass, giant fescue, and pignut.Their presence indicates that some areas remained continuously wooded throughout the Holocene andprovided refugia for these species during periods of disturbances, from which they could recolonisewhen disturbance episodes had abated. Some of these species have even recolonised old pathways.

The tree and shrub flora of Brackloon was probably more diverse in the past than it is today. Weknow from pollen analysis that elm, hazel, oak and ash were far more prominent in the past vegetationthan they are today. Species recorded in the fossil record that are absent from the wood today includeScots pine, yew, poplar (probably aspen), guelder-rose, elder, juniper and crowberry. Scots pine has,however, been recently reintroduced. These species declined and became locally extinct possibly dueto change in climate, competition from other species, changes in soil fertility or human activity.

One of the major threats to the future viability of our native woodlands is the introduction ofinvasive non-native species, such as rhododendron. Ireland is very vulnerable to population explosionwhen new species are introduced, owing to its very small complement of flora and fauna. Even thoughit is assumed that humans have regularly augmented the flora since early Neolithic times (about 6,000years BP), it was not until AD 1700 that the main exotic species were introduced into Ireland. Somespecies pose more of a threat than others. Rhododendron, and to a lesser extent laurel, have infestedmany of our native woodlands, creating a dense undergrowth and suppressing natural regeneration andgrowth of natural ground flora.

Apart from the 19th century introduction of rhododendron, beech and sycamore have become thebest-established exotic species since their introduction. They can invade and replace sessile oak inwoodland under undisturbed conditions.

Beech was introduced to the Westport area 200 years ago. It is most dominant at the westernboundary of the wood. It is spreading by seed from the areas where it was planted. Most of these treesare around one hundred years old. Individual beech trees were planted along the western boundary andin an area in the south west of the wood. It has mainly established itself on well-drained slopes and itis likely to out-compete oak in the future on brown earth soils in such areas. It is likely that it willcontinue to dominate and spread within the western section of the wood unless it is controlled.

Opposite page: Beard lichen and shield lichen on low tree branch.

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SESSILE OAK, DAIR, QUERCUS PETRAEA

Two species of oak occur in Ireland, the sessile oak (Quercus petraea) and the pedunculate oak(Quercus robur). Sessile oak tends to inhabit rocky, more acidic, less fertile habitats than thepedunculate oak. Sessile oak is the dominant species in oak woodlands in western Ireland. Itgrows best on drier soils.

Sessile oak can be recognised by the manner in which the acorn cup is attached to the branch.Unlike the pedunculate oak, the stalk joining the acorn to the twig is virtually absent. Its longerleaf stalk and the more regular lobing also help to distinguish it from pedunculate oak.

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ASH, FUINSEOG, FRAXINUS EXCELSIOR

Ash is another species native to Ireland. It fits naturally into the landscape, both as a woodlandand a hedgerow species, where it is very common. Ash regenerates freely on bare ground andin hedgerows. It requires moist but free-draining, nutrient-rich and sheltered, frost-free sites onwhich to produce quality fast-grown timber. Ash is a strong light-demanding species and isvery sensitive to competition from weeds for both nutrients and moisture.

Ash, along with oak, is the last of the broadleaved species to flush in the springtime. Its crownand foliage are light. The combination of these two factors allows a high level of light to reachthe woodland floor, thus fostering a rich array of flora and fauna beneath it. Ash is noted forits strong and flexible timber. It is the only species suitable for the manufacture of hurleys.

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BIRCH, BEITH, BETULA PUBESCENS and B. PENDULA

Birch is a pioneer species, being one of the first to colonise bare or unused ground. It was thefirst tree to arrive in Ireland at the end of the last glaciation. There are two species of birch inIreland: downy (Betula pubescens) and silver (Betula pendula) birch. It is difficult to tell themapart. Birch is common in acid oak woodlands. It is a soil-enhancing species with an ability toefficiently recycle nutrients, continuously improving or restoring soil fertility. It is one of thefirst trees to break into leaf in spring.

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ROWAN, CAORTHANN, SORBUS AUCUPARIA

Rowan, also known as mountain ash, is a common tree in hilly, rocky areas that grows equallywell on acid or alkaline sites. It will not tolerate waterlogged conditions and grows best onlight-textured brown earths and more fertile peats. Rowan is tolerant of exposure and is oftenfound in inaccessible places such as cliff faces, steep river gorges and rocky outcrops. It hasstriking red berries that appear in early autumn.

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HOLLY, CUILEANN, ILEX AQUIFOLIUM

Holly is a small evergreen tree or dense shrub that can grow to a height of 15 m. It is often amajor component of the understorey in many native woodlands, thriving beneath the tallercanopy trees. Holly is abundant on both acid and alkaline soils. It is a hardy tree that can growon exposed uplands. The female tree produces red berries in autumn, which are widely usedas Christmas decorations.

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SCOTS PINE, PÉINE ALBANACH, PINUS SYLVESTRIS

Scots pine, juniper and yew are the only conifers native to Ireland. Scots pine was an earlyarrival in Ireland after the Ice Age and remained a component of the vegetation until about3,000 years ago, when it died out as the climate changed. There is some debate over whetherany native Scots pine remain in Ireland. Most Scots pine growing today are from seed or plantsoriginally imported from elsewhere, mainly Scotland. Scots pine has blue-green needles andthe bark on the upper part of trunk is a distinctive orange-red to bright reddish brown.

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BEECH, FÁIBHILE, FAGUS SYLVATICA

Beech is a European species with a natural range extending from southern Norway to northernSpain and from the south of England to the Black Sea. Beech was one of the trees that nevermade the crossing to Ireland before the rising sea level cut off the island from the Europeanmainland. The date of introduction of beech to Ireland is suspected to be the 17th century, atShelton Abbey in Co Wicklow. It was certainly planted on many of the estates in the 18th and19th centuries. Where it is planted it does well in the drier soils of eastern Ireland andregenerates naturally.

Beech grows well under a wide range of soil conditions but does best where topsoil has aneutral or slightly acid (pH 6.0–7.5). For optimal growth it requires moist, free-draining soilsof moderate depth but will nevertheless grow on a range of soils. However, due to itssuperficial/shallow roots it avoids waterlogged soils. It has long been acknowledged that beechloves a wet head and dry feet!

It is intolerant of late spring frosts and although tolerant of exposure, prefers a sheltered sitewhere it can grow straight and tall. Beech is one of the most shade-tolerant species and as aresult is successful at establishing itself as an under-storey tree and growing on to become theclimax woodland species.

Beech, which can grow to a height of 40 m, is one of the most successful species in temperateareas. Its wide ecological range is only limited by its water requirements. Its intensetranspiration rate requires moist climates with abundant foggy days.

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RHODODENDRON, RÓDAIDEANDRÓN, RHODODENDRON PONTICUM

Rhododendron is native to the broadleaved warm-temperate forests to the east of the BlackSea. It was introduced to Ireland in the early 19th century, after being brought to Britain. Anevergreen shrub ranging in height from 2–8 m, it is a highly competitive species, whichspreads rapidly after its introduction and suppresses native plants. Widely naturalised inwestern Ireland, it is very invasive of woodland on acid and peat soils that are not permanentlywaterlogged. As in its native habitats, rhododendron builds up a very dense shrub layer, whichhinders the growth and regeneration of other species.

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In addition to light, water and nutrients are the main requirements for plant and tree growth. Plantsobtain most of the nutrients they require for their growth from the soil. Some nutrients are held in thesoil in forms that are very soluble; others are released only slowly from soil minerals or as a result ofthe decomposition of dead organic matter in the soil. Because of the high rainfall in the west of Ireland(at Brackloon it is over 1,700 mm per annum), nutrients are washed out, or leached from the soil,making it more acid. Chemicals released from the weathering of the minerals in the parent materialneutralise this acidity. However, because the parent material from which the soils at Brackloon havedeveloped is mainly schist and gneiss, they have a limited ability to neutralise acidity.

Natural vegetation systems, particularly undisturbed forests, maintain soil fertility and conservenutrients very efficiently by recycling them. A large part of the available forest nutrient supply is lockedup in the leaves of the trees and in the accumulated organic matter of the soil. Each year in the autumn,the leaves of deciduous trees change colour and fall from the trees. Accompanying the highly visiblechange in foliage colour is the invisible retranslocation process, whereby nutrients held in the leavesare returned to the woody tissue of the tree and stored, available for re-use by the plant in the nextgrowing season. Nutrients are also washed from living foliage into the soil. Those remaining in theleaves when they fall to the ground are released back into the soil by the activity of fungi and bacteria,from where the roots of the trees and other plants can reabsorb them.

Rainfall provides an important supplementary source of some nutrients. It contains many importantnutrients which, when they reach the soil, can be taken up by roots. Nutrients also reach the soil throughthe interception of gas and dust particles or associated with fog or mist. Forests are particularly efficientat trapping both nutrients and harmful substances from the atmosphere. They provide a porous canopy

C Y C L E S O F L I F E

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through which the air can pass, acting as an efficient filter that removes both pollutants and naturalconstituents, such as sea salts. In this way, they cleanse the air of pollutants, but increase theirdeposition on the forest soil. The nutrients they remove can be valuable for the vegetation, butpollutants usually add harmful acidity to the ecosystem. It has to be remembered, however, that themajor polluting substances also contain nutrients, particularly sulphur and nitrogen, which, in someinstances, would otherwise be in short supply.

MYCORRHIZAS

Most plant species have a symbiotic (or mutually beneficial) association of their roots withspecialised fungi. These associations are known as mycorrhizas, meaning ‘fungus roots’.Mycorrhizas are extremely important in forest soils. The fungus benefits by receiving carboncompounds from the plant, and the fungus supplies the plant with mineral nutrients, of whichphosphate is generally the most important. Mycorrhizas are very important in nutrient uptakeby plants especially in soils low in nutrients. Human influence on nutrient cycling in forests isalmost always negative, inhibiting the cycling to a greater or lesser degree.

The movement of nutrients between the various components of the ecosystem — air, water, plants,microorganisms and soil — is termed biogeochemical cycling. The many separate processes involvedin biogeochemical cycling, comprising nutrient inputs, outputs and transformations, result either inincreasing or neutralising the acidity of the ecosystem. The efficient cycling of nutrients is essential tothe sustainability of forest ecosystems.

The composition of the rainfall and the throughfall has been monitored at Brackloon for over adecade. About 15% of the average rainfall of 1,700 mm is intercepted by the forest canopy. Water thatis not intercepted and falls through the forest canopy is called throughfall and it carries with it part ofthe deposition trapped by the forest canopy.

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Main elements of the forest biogeochemical cycle.

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The proportion of incoming rainfall intercepted by the natural deciduous oak canopy at Brackloonis less than in a dense coniferous plantation. It might be expected that interception of ionic substanceswould follow the same pattern but at Brackloon this does not appear to be the case. Although thecanopy of the coniferous forest intercepts a much higher proportion of incoming rainfall, throughfallrates of ions are similar. The unusually high interceptive ability of the open canopy oak wood at

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Brackloon may also be due to the high proportion of epiphytic vegetation in the stand and particularlythe moss and lichen communities.

Although the rain at Brackloon is relatively clean compared to that on continental Europe or indeedon the east coast of Ireland, there is evidence of a small but significant pollution influence in the region.However, atmospheric inputs of the main pollutants which cause acidity are low. Nitrogen depositionis particularly low and there is evidence that it is being taken up by the canopy. This could imply thatthe forest is nitrogen limited. Nitrogen outputs from the soil below the rooting zone are virtuallyundetectable, despite low but important inputs in precipitation and from decaying leaf litter.

Atmospheric deposition in maritime regions is dominated by sea-salt. The marine influence isstrong at Brackloon, with high inputs of the main marine ions: sodium chloride, magnesium andsulphate. Enormous fluctuation in sea-salt deposition occurs as a result of storms. The sodiumthroughfall load is highest in winter when the frequency of depressions, approaching from the Atlanticis greatest. By contrast, deposition is very low in summer. The impact of a major storm, which occurredin the region in early January 1991, is illustrated by the fact that throughfall deposition of sodium inthat two week period represented 78% of its total deposition for the entire year!

With efficient recycling, net loss of nutrients from an ecosystem can be close to zero. In general,very few nutrients are lost from undisturbed forests. The extent of nutrient leaching from soils dependson both the amount of water moving through soils to streams and on the concentration of nutrientelements in the soil water. Undisturbed forests exert considerable control over both these factors.Transpiration demand by vegetation and interception of rainfall by the canopy reduces the amount ofwater moving to streams. Deciduous woodland, with a relatively open canopy structure, can, as shown,intercept as much as 15% of incoming rainfall. Use by vegetation and soil microbes reduces the nutrientcontent in soil water. The ability of microbial communities to grow rapidly provides an importantnutrient-conservation mechanism in ecosystems. Even in intact forests, microbes may be important inretaining nutrients during periods when tree uptake is low, e.g. uptake by soil microbes can reducenitrogen loss during early spring when nitrogen uptake by trees is still low.

Nutrients may be lost to streams either as dissolved substances (i.e. in solution) or as particulates(i.e. undissolved organic or mineral particles transported either in soil water or overland with erodingsoil). Solution losses consist primarily of soluble anions and cations whereas particulates contain a highproportion of the less soluble minerals. The potential for nutrient leaching to streams is generally highin temperate deciduous forests.

Leaching is accelerated when the equilibrium of the forest has been disturbed, such as whereatmospheric deposition is too high, or where the forest cover is removed. This results in significantlosses of nutrients, which may deplete the ecosystem and/or cause eutrophication of adjoining surfacewaters.

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Changes in forest ecosystems generally occur slowly in nature. Deposition and its impacts varygreatly with weather conditions and, as with climatological monitoring, evidence of adverse effectsonly become manifest after many years. Long-term monitoring is therefore required to provide the levelof understanding of ecosystem function needed before reliable generalisations can be made about suchcomplex systems.

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A N I M A L S O FB R A C K L O O N

Animal life abounds in Brackloon. Creatures living in or using the resources of the wood includemammals, birds and invertebrates. The activity of many of these animals is not immediately obviousto the casual visitor; most are small, some live under the cover of the dense ground layer, others appearonly at night.

Mammals of BrackloonBrackloon is used by seventeen different mammal species, or just over half of the total range found inIreland. Among the most conspicuous using the resources of Brackloon Wood are the badger, pinemarten and wood mouse. Fox and hare are also present. Other mammals to be found less frequentlyinclude the stoat, pygmy shrew, mink and hedgehog. An array of bat species are also present. Inaddition to sightings, signs of mammal activity in the wood occur in the form of burrows, hairs,droppings and diggings.

Woodlands are an important habitat for mammals. They provide their basic requirements of foodand cover, and breeding sites. Some mammal species are woodland specialists, completely dependenton the woodland for their survival, while others are generalists, utilising the wood, but adapted to avariety of habitat types. Woodland specialists include the pine marten and red squirrel.

Although rare today, many of Ireland’s indigenous mammals are adapted to living in mature broad-leaved woodland, due to its previous dominance over much of the landscape. Remnants of nativewoodland, such as Brackloon, are therefore of considerable importance in the conservation of severalmammalian species.

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WOODLAND MAMMAL SURVEYS

Larger mammal activity was studied by systematically surveying the wood between July andSeptember. The boundaries and main forest roads were searched. Evidence of burrows, hairs,droppings, diggings and sightings were recorded and mapped. Reliable casual sightings werealso recorded

Small mammals were surveyed by line trapping. A number of parallel traplines wereestablished at regular distances apart. Trapping stations were positioned at intervals along thetrapline. The traps were positioned under or alongside whatever, if any, cover was available.They were supplied with hay as bedding and baited with oats. Minced beef was also providedin each trap when trapping pygmy shrews. Each session comprised of 48 hours of pre-baitingfollowed by two nights of trapping. Trapping was carried out over an eight-day period at theend of the summer. The catch was examined the morning after trapping.

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Brackloon, although essentially a woodland habitat, contains within it a variety of physical featuresthat provide additional habitats for living organisms, including the river, hedgerows lining the road,stone walls, souterrain and the ruined dwelling.

Brackloon and its surroundings are also an important habitat for mammals in terms of the diversityof vegetation and the dynamic nature of woodland development. The intact mature oak stand, theclearfell areas, regenerating scrub and the nearby coniferous plantation offer a mosaic of habitat typesfor its mammals. Different vegetation species provide a variety of food types such as berries, nuts,seeds and leaves for mammals to feed on.

Badger activity, in the form of setts and paths, is conspicuous and widespread in Brackloon, and itwould appear to be home to a sizeable population. Badger activity is mainly concentrated at the northend of the wood. One main sett, with 41 entrances, linked by well-defined paths, along with a numberof subsidiary and outlier setts was located within the wood at the time of the survey. Associated withthe setts were two latrine sites, only one of which was in regular use. Badgers have a preference forwooded areas rather than clearfells. Badger paths are distributed unevenly within the wood. They aremainly concentrated in the woodland area and do not extend into the clear fell. There are very few pathscrossing the western boundary of the wood into adjoining pastureland. Another sett is located at theeastern bank of the river. Three large latrines, all in use, are located along the river. All setts found inBrackloon are constructed in or near a slope and are located in free-draining loamy soils. Badgers tendto construct their setts in easily worked soils. No more than one badger was seen at any time inBrackloon, but the extent of the main sett and the territory would suggest a sizeable population.

It is not surprising that badgers are utilising the wood as a habitat. In Ireland, it is generally foundthat hedgerows and woodland are preferentially selected for sett digging while grassland, moorland andbogs are generally avoided. In addition to the general landscape composition around Brackloon,positive attributes of the wood for the badger, include the locally common easily dug and well-drainedbrown earth soil, vegetation cover, lack of human interference, slopes and altitude.

Although there is a lot of pine marten activity in Brackloon, sightings of this elusive creature arerare. Frequent faecal evidence, or scats, however occurs throughout the wood. In Brackloon, most scatsare found on man-made physical features and surfaces. Droppings are frequently found on forest roads,the bridge and stonewall boundaries. The scats are usually found in prominent places and pine martensare believed to mark their territories in this way. It is likely that such features channel the marten'sactivities whilst foraging from one part of the wood to another. Pine martens tend to hunt along wallsand along the edges of woodland more than within the woodland itself. The pine marten apparently alsolikes to hunt in areas from which coniferous forest has been clearfelled, particularly in areas where herband scrub species have begun to recolonise the ground.

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Pine martens are solitary animals, which tend to occupy large home ranges, often more than 10 km2.Despite the widespread evidence of pine martens in Brackloon, there may be just one pair present inthe wood. A fall in pine marten activity occurred during a period of forestry management-relatedactivity indicating that these species are sensitive to disturbance. They are quite inquisitive and one wasa regular visitor to a dwelling near the wood in search of food and shelter.

Frequent sightings and signs of pine marten during the summer seem to indicate a lot of activity atthis time. Male and female ranges overlap, but this does not occur with same sex individuals. Thus ifthere is more than one pine marten resident in Brackloon, they are most likely to be a pair. Rocks,together with stonewalls and old trees, dispersed throughout the wood, provide refuges for the pinemarten and the stoat. The river, natural streams and drainage channels ensure water is never in shortsupply.

Widespread evidence of fox activity occurs in the wood. In addition to sightings, fox droppings arefrequently found at numerous locations throughout the wood. It is not unexpected that foxes occur inthis environment, being opportunists that are common throughout the country. In addition, woodlandhabitats provide ample food and cover. Its diet at Brackloon includes large quantities of beetles; fur andbones are not evident in its droppings.

Evidence of mink in Brackloon was confined to the banks of the Owenwee River. Mink distributionis strongly correlated with the density of mature trees on bank sides. These trees are often pollardedand hollow, and are useful den sites for mink.

The wood mouse and the brown rat are prevalent throughout the wood. Dense ground cover in allinstances favours small mammals. These two, together with birds, frogs, and invertebrates, especiallybeetles, can occur in the diet of the fox, stoat, pine marten and occasionally the badger. Evidence fromthe Killarney oak woods shows that wood mice numbers dramatically increase during the autumn,related to the increased supply of acorns and other seeds in the wood at this time.

There is no evidence to suggest the presence of the red squirrel in Brackloon. Reintroduced toIreland from England during the 19th century, having become extinct in Ireland at least twice, theyappear to be in decline again at present. They are believed to be thinly distributed throughout thecountry but may be locally common. Very much at home in coniferous woodland, they are also foundin mixed woodland and usually scarce or absent in deciduous woods. They require large mature treesin order to survive. However, some believe that in deciduous woods, young dense cover is preferred.The presence of squirrels in Brackloon Wood would be beneficial from many perspectives: increasingmammal diversity, overall conservation value of the wood and expanding the nationwide distributionof the squirrel. Successful introduction and population establishment would depend on whether thewood could sustain a red squirrel population. However, there are no known cases of translocating red

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squirrel in Ireland. They are highly sensitive to disturbance and a high mortality rate would be expectedduring and after translocation.

Brackloon’s BatsBrackloon hosts an unusually large and species-rich population of bats. Six of Ireland’s nine known batspecies are to be found in the wood. Of these, Daubenton's bat is the most abundant, followed by thetwo species of pipistrelle, common and soprano. Leisler’s bat is less abundant. The natterer’s and long-eared bats are rarely observed. Some of these species are probably migrant rather than resident.

The abundance and diversity of bat life in Brackloon are due to the variety of habitats present in thewood, including the man-made physical features: the hedgerow along the road, the river, bridges,

BATSNine species of bat occur in Ireland, accounting for almost a third of all Irish mammal species.Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. They forage at night and to navigate in thedark, bats use a technique called ‘echolocation’. They produce a high pitched sound, beyondthe range of human hearing. When this sound hits an object, an echo is produced, which travelsback to the bat to guide its flight.

Bats feed on a wide range of insects and play an important role in controlling insect numbers.They hibernate to survive during the winter, when food is in short supply. During hibernationtheir body temperature drops from 37oC to 10oC or lower, and heart rate from several hundredbeats per minute to between 5 and 20 beats per minute. The energy needed to sustain the batduring hibernation is accumulated during long feeding periods in the autumn and stored asbody fat.

Hibernating bats are extremely vulnerable to disturbance. A bat with a body temperature of10oC takes at least 15 minutes to wake up and flee from danger, using up valuable energyreserves. If a bat is disturbed too often during hibernation, it can die. Bats breed just once ayear, giving birth to a single offspring, usually in June or July.

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BRACKLOON BAT SURVEY

Two transect routes were delineated in the survey area, one along the eastern boundary parallelto the river and one along the western boundary. Each transect route was walked on a numberof different occasions during the summer, starting 30–45 minutes after sunset. All habitatfeatures in the survey area were recorded. Other conditions recorded during the surveyincluded the distance covered, time taken to walk the transect, weather conditions (wind speed,cloud cover and temperature) and relative insect activity. The number and position of batpasses or feeding signals heard or seen were recorded. Bats were observed using EcoTranquility and Sky bat-detectors. All bat calls were also recorded using a digital audio taperecorder. Species were identified during the survey and confirmed later by analyses ofsonographs of the recorded calls.

souterrain, ruined dwelling and clearfells. Bats are most frequently encountered along the river,especially Daubenton’s bat. This is a most important place because of the rich insect life associatedwith the aquatic environment. The bridges are used as a roost by a Daubenton’s bat female colony.Pipestrelle and natterer’s species can also be found in the vicinity of waterways.

The road surrounding the wood, with the semi-natural hedgerow running parallel to it, whichsupports abundant insect communities, is another good food source for bats. The fact that the roadoccurs at the edge of the wood further affects the abundance of bats found here. Both species ofpipistrelle can be found foraging around these hedgerows. Of the small percentage of bats found in thewood itself, a number were Leisler’s bats foraging above the wood, the rest were found foraging alongwoodland paths and small clearings.

Many studies on bat foraging have reported that semi-natural broadleaved woodland was a preferredhabitat. There is no evidence of bats using the small stands of coniferous trees that remain in the wood;coniferous forest is generally considered a less optimal woodland type. The souterrain in the ringfortnear the centre of the wood is a suitable roost site for some species.

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More bats are recorded along woodland edges than within woodland gaps, probably because thisenvironment has higher insect densities and offers good flying conditions without obstacles. Only asmall number of bats are found in the clearfell areas and this can be explained by insect abundance.There is no evidence of long-eared and Leisler’s bats feeding in the wood. Weather conditions are animportant factor in bat activity. The number of bats seen and heard is greatest in windless and rainlessconditions.

The removal of the coniferous stands may have caused some short-term disturbance to the bat faunaof the area as some bats keep to fixed flight paths, but in the long term insect abundance will increasein these areas and should result in an increase in bat numbers.

Bats are known to be sensitive to changes in the environment. Their numbers have declinedsignificantly in the last century due to a combination of loss of habitats, roost sites, food supply and anincreased frequency of disturbance. Bats are therefore believed to be useful indicators of environmentalchange. Woodland sites are important for the conservation of bats.

Soil fertility, tree species and vegetation structure all influence the occurrence of mammal speciesand population diversity within woodland. The dynamic nature of woodland development at Brackloonsuggests that mammal distribution will continue to change in the future. Species that are present todaymay become more abundant and other species may arrive, as the wood continues to evolve and asconditions become more favourable for them.

Invertebrates of BrackloonInvertebrates currently account for up to 95% of the known diversity among terrestrial animals.Woodland habitats are home to the greatest diversity of small invertebrates. This is because they arevery varied environments, with many hiding places and abundant food. This rich wildlife can be foundin the trees, herbaceous plants and flowers, on dead and rotting wood and on the ground. About 10%of woodland invertebrates are associated with dead wood. It has been estimated that a single oak treecan support up to 200 different insect species. Up in the canopy is a whole different world to whathappens on the forest floor. Some invertebrates are associated with fairly specific woodland sites andplants, while others can be found almost anywhere. Although mostly inconspicuous, the invertebratesare essential elements in the woodland ecosystem, helping to recycle the nutrients in fallen leaves andbranches.

In temperate forest ecosystems much of the invertebrate diversity is found in the soil and leaf littermicrohabitats. The litter and soil invertebrate fauna was studied at Brackloon. A total of seven classes,encompassing sixteen orders, of invertebrates are recorded at Brackloon. Most invertebrates found can

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be divided into three groups: predators, which hunt and consume live prey; detritivores, which live offdead animal and plant material; and fungivores, which eat fungal material. Typical woodlandinvertebrates found in Brackloon include predators such as mites (part of the Order Acari), spiders(Araneae), centipedes (Chilopoda) and harvestmen (Opiliones). Detritivores including millipedes(Diplopoda) and woodlice (Isopoda) were common as were the fungivorous springtails (Collembola).Millipedes are the most numerous group found at Brackloon.

A diverse range of beetles or Coleoptera were found, including rove beetles (Staphylinidae), buryingbeetles (Silphidae) and dung beetles (Scarabaeidae). Members of the Staphylinidae, such as the Devil’scoach horse, are aggressive predators, the Silphidae have many examples of scavengers, and theScarabaeidae are vegetarian or dung-feeders.

The range of soil types affects the density and diversity of invertebrate soil fauna found in differentparts of the wood. Earthworms are particularly sensitive to soil acidification and are therefore restrictedto certain soil types. The brown earth supported the largest earthworm populations, while other soiltypes are species-poor.

SOILAND LITTER INVERTEBRATE SAMPLING

Sampling of litter invertebrate fauna was carried out using pitfall traps sunk into the ground.Plastic buckets were located so that the lip of each bucket was level with the ground surface.The traps were located at approximately 10 m intervals and each trap contained half a litre of5% formaldehyde mixed with ethylene glycol. The traps were left for 4–6 week periodsbetween sampling. Throughfall was diverted away from the traps, to prevent flooding, by atemporary roof constructed over each bucket. This did not limit access by invertebrates. Aftersampling, the invertebrates were transferred to 70% alcohol in the laboratory. Carabid orground beetles were removed and identified to species level, while all other organisms weredivided into groups. Four sites were selected to sample soil macrofauna, one in each of the soiltypes; typical brown earth, typical brown podzolic soil, podzol and gley soils. The firstsampling was carried out in early summer when 12 quadrats were chosen in a 5 x 5 m plot ineach of the 4 sampling sites. In autumn, a further 6 quadrats were chosen from within the samesurvey area, in order to assess juveniles in the population that were not present in the earlysummer.

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BADGER, BROC, MELES MELES

The Eurasian badger is one of Ireland’s most common large mammals. Badgers are socialanimals, usually living in small groups. Each group consists of a dominant male and female,accompanied by a variable number of other adults and juveniles. Badgers live in complexunderground tunnel systems called setts. Besides the main sett, each territory generallyconsists of an annexe sett nearby. Further away there can be a number of small subsidiary setts,which are less often occupied. Towards the edges of the territory there may be one or twoisolated outlier setts. Within a few metres of the sett, there is often a latrine, consisting of aseries of shallow pits. This system of boundary latrines is used as a defence againstneighbouring groups. Conspicuous paths often interconnect these latrines with the main sett.Badgers regularly patrol these boundary paths, visiting latrines and renewing scent deposits.

Defended territories require soil suitable for digging setts, and an adequate food source. Thebadger is omnivorous and earthworms are the main constituent of its diet. Badgers are foundin a wide range of habitats, with setts most often located in woodlands and copses, scrub andhedgerows. In Ireland, however, badgers have adapted well to the relative lack of woodlandsand are found in all habitats below about 500 m altitude where the soil is dry and not subjectto flooding. They may be found on mountains but tend to be more solitary in these habitats.Nocturnal animals, shy of man, most people rarely see badgers alive.

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PINE MARTEN, CAT CRAINN, MARTES MARTES

The pine marten is one of Ireland’s most elusive mammals. It belongs to the familyMustelidae, which includes the badger, mink, otter and stoat. Similar in appearance to mink,this attractive cat-like animal has a long slender body with long legs and a pointed head, anda creamy patch on its throat. Assumed to have colonised Ireland after the last Ice Age, itswidespread distribution suffered serious decline in the 17th century with the deforestation ofthe country, which destroyed its habitat. Pine marten was quite rare until recently, but is nowrecovering and extending its range to most parts of the country. Martens have a strongpreference for tree cover; its main habitat is deciduous woodland or scrub with good groundcover. Recently it has begun to colonise mixed woodland and coniferous thickets. Pine martensare omnivores, taking a wide variety of foods depending on what is available.

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STOAT, EASÓG, MUSTELA ERMINEA

The Irish stoat is Ireland’s smallest carnivore. It is unique to Ireland and is often incorrectlycalled a weasel. This native mustelid has a nation-wide distribution. It occurs in a wide rangeof habitats, from lowland agricultural country, marsh and woodland to mountains. Thedistribution of stoats is closely related to cover and food supply. Believed to be active day andnight, it inhabits a variety of dens and holes for refuge, including tree holes, bird nests, stonewalls, rocky crevices and prey burrows. Before myxomatosis was introduced, the rabbit wasits staple food. Now birds are the main constituent of its diet, followed by hares and rabbitsand small rodents. In the event of food scarcity, it will eat earthworms, rats and large insects.It may be predated upon by hawks, owls and larger carnivores.

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FOX, SIONNACH/MADRA RUA, VULPES VULPES

Common and widespread throughout Ireland, this dog-like carnivore thrives in a variety oflocations and has no particular habitat, living in wooded areas, remote moorland and busysuburbs alike. The fox has a variable diet with rodents, rabbits and hares often being the chiefconstituents. However, shrews, invertebrates, birds and large mammal carrion are also foodsources for the fox.

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AMERICAN MINK, MINC MHERICEÁNACH, MUSTELA VISON

Native to North America, mink was introduced to several European countries for thecommercial value of its fur. Feral mink have a preference for living by the waterside; however,they are less rigidly tied to water than are otters. They are known to utilise every kind ofwaterway from tiny upland streams to broad lowland rivers, canals, ponds, lakes, reservoirs,estuaries, and even rocky seashores. As generalist predators, their diet very much depends onhabitat and the time of year. Mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates all feature in variableproportions. Mink are most active at night or around dawn or dusk.

American mink first escaped from fur farms and began to establish itself in the wild in Irelandduring the 1950s. It caused great alarm when it became clear that it could not be eradicated,but its spread, although undesirable, has not been the total catastrophe that was originallyfeared.

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HEDGEHOG, GRAINNEÓG, ERINACEUS EUROPAEUS

The hedgehog inhabits open deciduous woodland or open country where sufficient cover isavailable. It is to be found in agricultural areas, gardens, parks and city suburbs. A mainlynocturnal, slow-moving animal, it feeds on a wide variety of invertebrates such as caterpillars,beetles, earthworms, slugs, earwigs and millipedes. It is also known to eat birds, their eggs,small mammals and carrion. Although believed to be scarce early last century, it now appearsto be common in Ireland.

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PYGMY SHREW, LUCH FÉIR/DALLÓG FHRAOIGH, SOREX MINUTUS

The pygmy shrew is Ireland’s smallest mammal and it has the shortest lifespan. It iswidespread in all types of habitat with plentiful ground cover. It eats small invertebrate preysuch as spiders, beetles and insect larvae. It is predated on mainly by owls.

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WOOD MOUSE, LUCH (LUCHÓG) FHÉIR, APODEMUS SYLVATICUS

The wood mouse occurs in a variety of habitats but prefers areas where the cover is fairlydense. As a digging animal its distribution tends to be influenced somewhat by soil suitability.The diet of the wood mouse is dominated by seeds but when this food source is in short supply,such as in spring and early summer they eat arthropods, green plant material, roots, berries,nuts, fruit, insects, and even the bodies of other mice and birds.

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DAUBENTON’S BAT, LALTÓG UISCE, MYOTIS DAUBENTONI

Daubenton’s bat is generally considered to be an animal of low-lying, flat, open, woodedcountry with water bodies. In Ireland most of its roosts are found under bridges but it also usesbuildings, caves and trees. Daubenton’s bat has a characteristic flight pattern close to thesurface of slow-flowing or still water. It exploits the rich insect life around the banks of lakes,ponds and rivers. It flies low, hunting just above the water surface, snatching the insects thatare attracted to the water surface. It usually emerges from its roost about 30 minutes or an hourafter sunset.

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LEISLER’S BAT, LALTÓG LEISLER, NYCTALUS LEISLERIIreland has Europe’s largest population of Leisler’s bat, and it is Ireland’s largest bat. Theyemerge from the roosts early in the evening at or just before sunset. They hunt mainly overopen deciduous and coniferous woodland and scrub areas. Leisler’s bat usually roosts in oldmature oak trees, which contain holes. In recent years, the erection of bat boxes (artificial roostunits) has proved very successful; often the first evidence of a particular species being in anarea has come from them.

NATTERER’S BAT, LALTÓG NATTEREIR, MYOTIS NATTERERINatterer’s bat, although widespread in Ireland, is not abundant. It is one of Ireland’s smallerbats, it is also one of the rarest and least known. It is generally considered to be a forest orwoodland animal and roosts in tree-holes. They usually emerge about 45–60 minutes aftersunset and may be seen flying moderately fast around trees or in the woodland canopy.

COMMON PIPISTRELLE, LALTÓG FHEASCRACH, PIPISTRELLUSPIPISTRELLUS

ANDSOPRANO PIPISTRELLE, LALTÓG FHEASCRACH SOPRÁNACH

PIPISTRELLUS PYGMAEUSThe soprano pipistrelle has only recently been distinguished from the common pipistrelle. Themain difference between them is the frequency of their hunting calls (55 and 45 kHzrespectively). It is very difficult to tell the two species apart.

Both are widespread and abundant. The soprano pipistrelle is probably our smallest bat andthe common pipistrelle the second smallest. They emerge after dusk and may hunt for up tofour hours a night.

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B I R D S O FB R A C K L O O N

Woodlands are very important habitats for birds, providing a source of food, a secure place in which tobuild their nests, and shelter from predators and inclement weather. The factors influencing the densityof birds and diversity of species within woodlands include tree species, age and density of trees and thearea covered by the habitat. The density of the ground cover will also affect bird species present, withsome species preferring woodland with a dense shrub layer. Changes in management practices, e.g.felling, understorey clearance and grazing will impact upon bird species and populations. The dynamicnature of woodland development at Brackloon influences which species are present in the wood.Environmental changes will also affect bird communities and, as such, birds are good indicators ofenvironmental change.

Many of the common woodland birds can be seen at Brackloon, along with some not normallyassociated with this habitat. Most of the birds present in the wood prefer the more mature semi-naturalwoodland vegetation. In all, 41 bird species were recorded at Brackloon. Eight of these, however, wererecorded flying over, two were recorded in the fields outside the wood and a further three were confinedto the river habitat. Therefore, a total of 28 species, including seven migrant species, were associateddirectly with the woodland habitat. Fifty-one different species of bird have been recorded in woodsthroughout Ireland. Brackloon is therefore species-rich in terms of number of species present. Wren,robin, blackbird, coal tit and blue tit are the most abundant bird species in the wood. During the summerthe wren is the most abundant species in Brackloon, while in winter, the robin is most abundant.

Most of the bird species recorded at Brackloon are opportunistic generalists rather than woodlandspecialist species. A notable exception is the long-eared owl, which was also the only typicallynocturnal species recorded on the dusk transects. This was also the only time when grasshopper

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BRACKLOONWOOD BIRD SURVEY

A transect survey method was chosen to sample the bird community at Brackloon. A transect2,700 m was marked out along pre-existing forest roads and subdivided into 100 m sections.All birds encountered, either seen or heard, while walking the transects, were recorded andallocated to one of four categories: (i) within 25 m on either side of the transect line,(ii) between 25 m and 100 m on either side of the transect line, (iii) more than 100 m on eitherside of the transect line and (iv) birds in flight (at any distance). All lateral distances wereestimated at right angles to the transect line. The section of the Owenwee River bordering thewoodland was surveyed separately from the main survey. This was carried out by walking theriver bank and recording any riparian species.

Both winter and summer surveys were carried out. For the summer survey, the wood wasvisited twice; early in the breeding season (early May) to record resident and early migrantspecies, and later in the season (mid June) to record late-arriving species or those that were notactive during the first visit. In the winter survey, two visits were also made to the wood (lateJanuary and early February) to estimate the winter migrant species. Surveying beganapproximately one hour after dawn and finished before midday. Dusk surveys were alsoconducted to detect crepuscular and nocturnal species.

warblers were detected. Species richness in Brackloon is increased by the river, which attracts theriparian species dipper, grey wagtail and mallard, in addition to snipe and water rail.

Blackcap was most abundant in the more mature regenerating woodland and goldcrest was mostabundant in stands of mature conifers, although both these species occurred elsewhere in the wood.Regenerating clearfell patches in the wood have attracted species not normally associated with maturewoodland in Ireland, such as willow warbler, grasshopper warbler and meadow pipit. Their presencehas only been recorded in these areas. As maturation occurs and the regenerating clearfell patchesbecome established, these species will most likely disappear, or at least be confined to the edges of thewoodland.

Future changes in vegetation composition at Brackloon may also accommodate more woodlandspecialist species such as the wood warbler. Retention of lying and standing deadwood, snags, logs anddead branches, will provide additional nest sites for those specialist species associated with maturesemi-natural woodland that use holes in trees for breeding.

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WREN, DREOILÍN, TROGLODYTES TROGLODYTES

The wren is one of the most widespread and abundant of birds in Ireland. It is easily recognisedby its small size and cocked tail, but its size and sombre plumage makes it difficult to detect.It commonly breeds in a wide variety of habitats, including woodlands, gardens, meadows,heathland, or anywhere with plentiful low cover. Woodland is a favourite haunt, especiallywith dense undergrowth. Although the wren is very abundant in woodland its scientific nameTroglodytes troglodytes means ‘a cave dweller’. For such a small bird, both its song and itsalarm calls are surprisingly loud and shrill. It nests between April and July. Whenever food isabundant and the weather is favourable the wren rears two broods. It searches for insects andspiders on or near the ground. During extremely cold weather, flocks of wrens will roosthuddled together in a bundle, sharing body heat, which a small bird can lose rapidly on a coldnight.

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ROBIN, SPIDEOG, ERITHACUS RUBECULA

The robin generally nests in forest with dense undergrowth and in scrub, gardens, hedgerowsand parks. It is the most familiar and popular of garden and woodland birds. The robin is oneof the easiest European birds to identify, its red face distinguishing it from other red-breastedbirds. In winter, northern European robins migrate to southern Europe. Other populations areresident. It feeds on insects and berries and moves over the ground hopping vigorously. It is anupright plump little bird and is confident and trusting with humans. Its song is one of the firstto be heard in winter, as it proclaims its territorial rights.

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BLUE TIT, MEANTÁN GORM, PARUS CAERULEUS

Although the blue tit is a frequent visitor to gardens in both winter and summer, it is really awoodland bird, commonly breeding in deciduous woods. Blue tits nest any time from mid-April to late June, depending on the availability of food. It feeds on insects, spiders and othersmall animals. It feeds in flocks of up to 30 in winter, often with other species of tit. It has abright blue crown and its wings and tail are blue.

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COALTIT, MEANTÁN DUBH, PARUS ATER

The coal tit prefers coniferous trees but is fairly common in deciduous woodland, gardens andparks. Although it is widely distributed throughout the British Isles, it was very scarce in partsof western Ireland. However, it has increased and extended its range due to afforestation. It isa gregarious bird and often associates with other tits outside of the breeding season.

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BLACKBIRD, LON DUBH, TURDUS MERULA

One of the most familiar birds in Europe, the blackbird is common in woodlands fields andgardens. The male is easily recognised by its jet-black plumage and yellow bill and eye-ring.The female is recognised by the uniformly brown plumage. It takes a wide range of foodincluding insects worms, fruit and berries. It sings from a well-visible songpost and its songis very melodic and pleasing. The blackbird is highly territorial.

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WILLOWWARBLER, CEOLAIRE SAILÍ, PHYLLOSCOPUS TROCHILUS

The willow warbler, a very common tiny summer visitor, flies all the way from Africa to rearits young in Europe. It spends the summer in woodland, particularly oak woodland, where ithunts for insects among the leaves. Like other warblers it is more often heard than seen.

Although common in oak wood they colonise any wooded or shrub area where the canopy isnot dense. In some areas they seem to prefer birch wood to oak wood. It is the most commonand widespread warbler.

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SNIPE, NAOSCACH, GALLINAGO GALLINAGO

This wader is a shy secretive bird, most likely to be seen when flushed, flying off in a zigzagpattern, with its long straight bill pointed slightly downwards. Its habitat is flood meadows,grassland, marshland and bogs. It feeds mainly on worms but also molluscs, insects and otherinvertebrates.

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LONG-EARED OWL, CEANN CAIT, ASIO OTUS

The long-eared owl is the most common owl in Ireland but is seldom seen as it roosts close tothe trunks of trees. It is a medium-sized owl, which looks long and thin, with buff brownplumage with darker brown streaks and orange eyes. It has long head feathers known as eartufts, which are held erect when nervous.

The long-eared owl hunts over open landscapes but nests and roosts in deciduous woodlandsand coniferous plantations. It is a nocturnal, predatory bird emerging at night to feed on youngbirds and a wide range of small mammals, including mice, rats and shrews. The male has along low drawn-out “oo-oo-oo” call and young birds make a loud and squeaky call whichsounds like an unoiled hinge. It is more frequent in the east than the west of the country, andit is estimated that there may be 1,000–3,500 pairs in Ireland.

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T H E F U T U R E ?

Native woodlands are a valuable part of our heritage, which if lost can never be fully regained. Theyare among our most beautiful and important habitats, supporting a wide range of plant and animalspecies, ranging from large majestic oak trees to tiny insects. Often associated with these woodlandsalso are features of historical and archaeological importance.

Brackloon Wood has survived the last 10,000 years. Throughout the course of its long history it hasundergone many perturbations. It has withstood clearances for agriculture, periods of intenseexploitation and, in recent decades, part conversion to a coniferous plantation.

Substantial archives of land use history and changes are preserved in the landscape, vegetation, soilsand sediments of the wood. Historical documents, including early travellers’ accounts, estate recordsand maps, contain details of its recent history. Native woodlands have much to tell us about our past.They can also provide insights into long-term ecosystem processes and therefore have an important roleto play in informing and guiding present-day forest management practices.

While Brackloon has survived the last 10,000 years, its future and that of other remnants of nativewoodlands throughout the country is by no means assured without careful informed long-termmanagement. Management activities must recognise that these ecosystems are in a constant state ofchange, not always apparent within the perspective of human life spans.

Responsibility for Brackloon’s continued survival now rests with us. We have the knowledge andmore resources than ever before to take care of it. Happily steps are being taken to safeguard its future.The integrated approach adapted to the conservation and preservation of Brackloon, involvingmanagement, research and monitoring is central to the future viability of the wood. The role of local

communities in the preservation of these woodlands is paramount. At Brackloon the input of thecommunity and their appreciation of this important resource are invaluable.

Brackloon Wood is currently being managed to ensure its sustainability and longevity and tomaximise its biological diversity. Conditions for regeneration to succeed have been provided andplanting with native trees has occurred. Young trees are growing alongside old trees. The process ofrecreating the original wooded landscape is underway. Ecological, environmental and amenity benefitswill be immeasurable. When you walk through the wood, remember its past, evidence of which remainsall around you and remember it is home to many creatures.

At Brackloon the future is bright. A new chapter in the story of the wood is just beginning!

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Common name Irish name Latin nameSycamore Seiceamar Acer pseudoplatanusHorse chestnut Crann cnó-capaill Aesculus hippocastanumVelvet bent Feorainn shlim Agrostis caninaAlder Fearnóg Alnus glutinosaSweet vernal grass Féar cumhra Anthoxanthum odoratumSilver birch Beith gheal Betula pendulaDowny birch Beith chlúmhach Betula pubescensHard fern Raithneach chrua Blechnum spicantFlea sedge Cíb dhreancaide Carex pulicarisRemote sedge Cíb scartha Carex remotaWood sedge Cíb choille Carex sylvaticaNarrow-leaved helleborine Cuaichín Caol Cephalantera longifoliaEnchanter’s nightshade Fuinseagach Circaea lutetianaPignut Cúlarán Conopodium majusHazel Coll Corylus avellanaHawthorn Sceach geal Cratageus monogynaMarsh hawk’s-beard Lus corraigh Crepis paludosaFoxglove Méaracáin phúcaí Digitalis purpureaBroad buckler fern Raithneach leathan Dryopteris dilatataCrowberry Lus na feannóige Empetrum nigrumRosebay willowherb Saileachán francach Epilobium angustifoliumWater horsetail Eireaball capaill uisce Equisetum fluviatileBeech Fea Fagus sylvaticaGiant fescue Feisciú capaill Festuca giganteaMeadowsweet Airgead luachra Filipendula ulmariaAsh Fuinseóg Fraxinus excelsiorHerb robert Earball rí Geranium robertianumIvy Eidhneán Hedera helixYorkshire fog Féar an chin bháin Holcus lanatusBluebell Coinnle corra Hyacinthoides non-scripta

A P P E N D I X

Plant species mentioned in text

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Common name Irish name Latin nameHolly Cuileann Ilex aquifoliumYellow iris Feileastram Iris pseudacorusSoft rush Luachair bhog Juncus effususHard rush Luachair chrua Juncus inflexusJuniper Aiteal Juniperus communisHoneysuckle Táthfhéithleann Lonicera periclymenumGreat wood-rush Ollghiúnach Luzula sylvaticaCow wheat Lus an tsagairt Melampyrum pratenseWood melic Meilic Melica unifloraWatermint Mismín uisce Mentha aquaticaWood sorrel Samhradh choille Oxalis acetosellaNorway spruce Sprús Lochlannach Picea abiesSitka spruce Sprús Sitceach Picea sitchensisLodgepole pine Péine contórtach Pinus contortaScots pine Péine Albanach Pinus sylvestrisPlantain Slánlus Plantago spp.Polypody Scim choiteann Polypodium vulgareAspen Crann creathach Populus tremulaTormentil Néalfhartach Potentilla erectaPrimrose Sabhaircín Primula vulgarisDouglas fir Giúis Dhúghlais Pseudotsuga menziesiiBracken Raithneach Pteridium aquiliniumSessile oak Dair neamhghasánach Quercus petraeaPedunculate oak Dair ghallda Quercus roburRhododendron Ródaideandrón fiáin Rhododendron ponticumBramble Driseog Rubus spp.Sheep’s sorrel Samhadh caorach Rumex acetosellaDock Copóg Rumex spp.Willow Saileach Salix cinereaElder Tromán Sambucus nigraRowan/Mountain ash Caorthann Sorbus aucupariaYew Iúr Taxus baccataWych elm Leamhán sléibhe Ulmus glabraBilberry Fraochán Vaccinium myrtillusGuelder rose Caorchon Viburnum opulusEarly dog-violet Sail chuach Viola reichenbachianaCommon dog-violet Sailchuach chon Viola riviniana

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Mammals of Brackloon Wood

COMMON NAME IRISH NAME LATIN NAMEBadger Broc Meles meles

Brown long-eared bat Laltóg fhad-chluasach Plecotus auritus

Brown rat Francach donn Rattus norvegicus

Common pipistrelle Laltóg fheascrach Pipistrellus pipistrellus, 45 kHz

Daubenton’s bat Laltóg uisce Myotis daubentoni

Fallow deer Fia buí Dama dama

Fox Sionnach/Madra rua Vulpes vulpes

Hare Giorria Lepus timidus

Hedgehog Grainneóg Erinaceus europaeus

Leisler’s bat Laltóg Leisler Nyctalus leisleri

Mink Minc Mhericeánach Mustela vison

Natterer’s bat Laltóg Nattereir Myotis natterei

Pine marten Cat crainn Martes martes

Pygmy shrew Luch féir/Dallóg fhraoigh Sorex minutus

Soprano pipistrelle Laltóg fheascrach sopránach Pipistrellus pipistrellus, 55 kHz

Stoat Easóg Mustela erminea

Wood mouse Luch (luchóg) fhéir Apodemus sylvaticus

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Birds of Brackloon WoodCOMMON NAME IRISH NAME LATIN NAME LOCATION

OBSERVEDSTATUS SEASON

RECORDEDBlackbird Lon dubh Turdus merula R S,WBlackcap Caipín dubh Sylvia atricapilla M SBlue tit Meantán gorm Parus caeruleus R S,WBullfinch Corcrán coille Pyrrhula pyrrhula R SChaffinch Rí rua Fringilla coelebs R S,WChiffchaff Tiuf-teaf Phylloscopus collybita M SCoal tit Meantán dubh Parus ater R S,WCormorant Broigheall Phalacrocorax carbo F R WCuckoo Cuach Cuculus canorus M SDipper Gabha dubh Cinclus cinclus O R SDunnock Donnóg Prunella modularis R S,WGoldcrest Cíorbhuí Regulus regulus R S,WGoldfinch Lasair choille Carduelis carduelis F R WGrasshopper warbler Ceolaire casarnaí Locustella naevia M SGreat tit Meantán mór Parus major R S,WGrey wagtail Glasóg liath Motacilla cinerea O R S,WHooded crow Caróg liath Corvus corone cornix R S,WJackdaw Cág Corvus monedula F R S,WJay Scréachóg Garrulus glandarius R S,WLinnet Gleoiseach Carduelis cannabina F R WLong-eared owl Ceann cait Asio otus R WLong-tailed tit Meantánerrfhada Aegithalos caudatus R S,WMagpie Snag breac Pica pica R S,WMallard Lacha fhiáin Anas platyrhynchos O R S,WMistle thrush Liatráise Turdus viscivorus R S,WPeregrine Fabhcún gorm Falco peregrinus F R WPheasant Piasún Phasianus colchicus R S,WRaven Fiach dubh Corvus corax F R S,WRedwing Deargán sneachta Turdus iliacus F M WRobin Spideog Erithacus rubecula R S,WRook Rúcach Corvus frugilegus F R WSnipe Naoscach Gallinago gallinago OSA R WSong thrush Smólach ceoil Turdus philomelos R S,WSparrowhawk Spioróg Accipiter nisus R S,WSpotted flycatcher Cuilire liath Musciapa striata M STreecreeper Snag Certhia familiaris R S,WWater rail Rálóg uisce Rallus aquaticus OSA R WWillow warbler Ceolaire sailí Phylloscopus trochilus M SWoodcock Creabhar Scolopax rusticola R+M WWoodpigeon Colm coille Columba palumbus R S,WWren Dreoilín Troglodytes troglodytes R S,W

Location observed: O = river, F = flying over, OSA = outside survey areaStatus: R = resident, M = migrant. Season: S = summer, W = winter

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Surface invertebrates captured in pitfall trap at Brackloon Wood.

STAGE CLASS ORDER SUB-ORDER FAMILY SPECIES NUMBERAdults:

Arachnida Acari 322Aranaea 479Opiliones N. bimaculatum 60

Others 405Crustacea Isopoda 163Chilopoda Lithobiomorpha 9

Geophilomorpha 0Diplopoda Polydesmida 81

Julida 120Glomerida 7

Insecta Coleoptera Brachelytra Staphylinidae 485Clavicornia Silphidae 48

Others 37Lamellicornia Scarabaeidae 216Longicornia Cerambycidae 4Rhynchophora Curculionidae 4All others 43

Collembola 470Diptera Bracycera 20

Cyclorrhapha 608Nematocera 15

Hemiptera Heteroptera 14Homoptera 26

Hymenoptera Apocrita 193Oligochaeta 92Gastropoda 107

Larvae:Insecta Coleoptera 117

Diptera 68Hymenoptera 2Lepidoptera 30

Nymphs:Insecta Dermaptera 1

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Carabid beetles recorded at Brackloon Wood

SPECIES TOTAL NUMBER %Abax parallelepipedus 410 52.6Carabus granulatus 61 7.8Carabus nemoralis 20 2.6Carabus problematicus 30 3.8Cychrus caraboides 3 0.4Leistus rufescens 5 0.6Loricera pillicornis 1 0.1Nebria brevicollis 5 0.6Pterostichus madidus 92 11.8Pterostichus melanarius 102 13.1Pterostichus niger 46 5.9Pterostichus nigrita 2 0.3Pterostichus strenuus 2 0.3Trechus obtusus 1 0.1

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FERNSAthyrium filix-feminaBlechnum spicantDryopteris affinisDryopteris dilatataDryopteris filix-masDryopteris pseudomasEquisetum fluviatileHymenophyllum wilsoniiOsmunda regalisPhyllitis scolopendriumPolypodium vulgarePteridium aquilinum

DICOTYLEDENOUS PLANTSAcer campestrisAcer pseudoplatanusAchillea millefoliumAesculus hippocastanumAgrimonia eupatoriaAjuga reptansAlnus glutinosaAnagalis arvensisBellis perennisBetula pendulaBetula pubescensCalluna vulgarisCaltha palustrisCampanula rotundifoliaCardamine flexuosaCardamine pratensisCentaurea nigraCerastium fontanumChrysosplenium oppositifoliumCircaea lutetianaCircium palustreCircium vulgareCorylus avellanaCrataegus monogynaCrepis paludosaCytisus scoparius

Daboecia cantabricaDigitalis purpureaDrosera anglicaEpilobium angustifoliumEpilobium brunescensEpilobium montanumEpilobium parviflorumErica cinereaErica tetralixEuphrasia arctica borealisFagus sylvaticaFilipendula ulmariaFragaria vescaFraxinus excelsiorGalium aparineGalium palustreGalium saxatileGalium verumGeranium robertianumGeum rivaleGeum urbanumHedera helixHeracleum sphondyliumHieracium pilosellumHieracium umbellatumHyacynthoides non-scriptusHypericum androsaemumHypericum pulchrumIlex aquifoliumLathyrus pratensisLonicera periclymenumLotus corniculatusLysimachia nemorumLythrum salicariaLychnis flos-cuculiMelampyrum pratensisMyrica galeOxalis acetosellaPlantago lanceolataPlantago majorPotentilla erecta

Botanical Species List for Brackloon Wood

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Primula vulgarisPrunus spinosaMenta aquaticaMontia fontanaPedicularis sylvaticaPolygala serpyllifoliaQuercus petraeaPotentilla anserinaRanunculus ficariaRanunculus scleratusRhododendron ponticumRosa caninaRubus idaeusSalix cinerea oleifoliaSalix capreaSanicula europaeaSaxifraga spathularisSedum acrePotentilla sterilisPrunella vulgarisRanunculus acrisRubus mucronatulusSenecio aquaticusSolidago virgureaStellaria gramineaThymus praecoxSenecio jacobaeaSorbus aucupariaStachys sylvaticaStellaria holosteaSuccisa pratensisSymphoricarpos rivularisTaraxacum officinaleTeucrium scordoniaTrifolium pratenseTrifolium repensUlex europaeusUlmus glabraUmbilicus rupestrisUrtica dioicaVeronica chamaedrysVaccinium myrtillusValeriana officinalisVeronica officinalis

Viburnum opulusViola reichenbachianaViola riviniana

MONOCOTYLEDENOUS PLANTSAgrostis caninaAgrostis capillarisAgrostis tenuisAira praecoxAnthoxanthum odoratumArrhenatherum elatiusArum maculatumBrachypodium sylvaticumBromus hordeaceusCarex flaccaCarex laevigataCarex nigraCarex pulicarisCarex remotaCarex rostrataCarex sylvaticaCephalanthera longifoliaCynosurus cristatusDactylis glomerataDactylorhiza maculataDeschampsia caespitosaFestuca altissimaFestuca ovinaHolcus lanatusHolcus mollisHyacinthoides non-scriptaIris pseudacorusJuncus conglomeratusJuncus effususLuzula multifloraLuzula sylvaticaMelica unifloraMillium effusumMolinia caeruleaPoa annuaPoa pratensisPotamogeton perfoliatusPotamogeton polygonifoliusTritonia x crocosmiflora

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HEPATICSBazzania tricrenataBazzania trilobataCalypogeia fissaCalypogeia muelleranaCephalozia bicuspidataChiloscyphus polyanthusColura calyptrifoliaConocephalum conicumDiplophyllum albicansDrepanolejeunea hamatafoliaFrullania dilatataFrullania fragifoliaFrullania microphyllaFrullania tamarisciFrullania teneriffaeGymnomitrium crenulatumHarpalejeunea ovataLejeunea cavifoliaLejeunea lamacerinaLejeunea patensLejeunea ulicinaLepidozia cupressinaLepidozia reptansLophocolea bidentataLophozia ventricosaLunularia cruciataMarchesinia mackaiiMarsupella emarginataMetzgeria fruticulosaMetzgeria furcataMylia tayloriiNardia scalarisNowellia curvifoliaPellia epiphyllaPlagiochila asplenioidesPlagiochila porelloidesPlagiochila punctataPlagiochila spinulosaRadula complanataSaccogyna viticulosaScapania nemoreaScapania umbrosaScapania undulataTrichocolea tomentella

MOSSESAndraea rothiiAulocomium palustreBrachythecium rutabulumBreutelia chrysocomaBryum capillareBryum pseudotriquetrumCalliergon cuspidatumCampylium stellatumCampylopus atrovirensCampylopus introflexusCampylopus paradoxusCeratodon purpureusCinclidotus fontinaloidesCratoneuron commutatumCtenidium molluscumDicranella heteromallaDicranella variaDicranum majusDicranum scopariumEurhynchium praelongumEurhynchium striatumEurhynchium swartziiFissidens osmundoidesFissidens taxifoliusFontinalis antipyreticaFunaria hygrometricaHedwigia ciliataHomalothecium sericeumHookeria lucensHylocomium brevirostreHylocomium splendensHypnum cupressiformeHypnum jutlandicumIsothecium myosuroidesIsothecium myurumLeucobryum glaucumMnium hornumNeckera complanataNeckera crispaPlagiomnium rostratumPlagiomnium undulatumPlagiothecium undulatumPleurozium schreberiPogonatum aloidesPogonatum urnigerum

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Polytrichum communePolytrichum piliferumPseudoscleropodium purumRacomitrium aquaticumRacomitrium fasciculareRacomitrium lanuginosumRhizomnium punctatumRhytidiadelphus loreusRhytidiadelphus squarrosusRhytidiadelphus triquetrusSphagnum auriculatumSphagnum palustreSphagnum papillosumSphagnum quinquefariumThamnobryum alopecurumThuidium tamariscinumTortula laevipilaUlota crispaUlota hutchinsiaeUlota phyllanthaZygodon viridissimus viridissimus

ALGAE & CYANOBACTERIAElliptochloris bilobataNannochloris normandinaeTrebouxia ericiTrebouxia sp. (in Parmeliaceae)Trentepohlia aureaTrentepohlia umbrinaNostoc muscorumNostoc punctiforme

BASIDIOMYCETESAgaricus langeiAmanita citrinaAmanita muscariaAmanita rubescensArmillaria melleaAsterophora parasiticaBoletus edulisCantharellus cibariusCantharellus infundibuliformisClavaria vermicularisClavulina cristataClitocybe ditopaClitocybe infundibuliformis

Clitocybe nebularisCollybia dryophilaCollybia inolensCollybia maculataCollybia marasmioidesConocybe brunneolaConocybe teneraCoprinus cinereusCoprinus micaceusCoprinus niveusCoprinus plicatilisCoprinus radiatusCoriolus versicolorCortinarius acutusCortinarius alboviolaceusCortinarius bolarisCortinarius brunneusCortinarius callisteusCortinarius caninusCortinarius cotoneusCortinarius decipiensCortinarius elatiorCortinarius erythrinusCortinarius helvelloidesCortinarius hemitrichusCortinarius hinnuleusCortinarius largusCortinarius myrtillinusCortinarius obtususCortinarius ochroleucusCortinarius paleaceusCortinarius purpurascensCortinarius rigidusCortinarius torvusCortinarius trivialisCrepidotus variabilisCyathus striatusCystoderma amianthumEntoloma nidorosumEntoloma rhodopoliumFistulina hepaticaGalerina hypnorumGalerina sphagnorumHebeloma crustuliniformeHebeloma fastibileHydnum repandum

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Hydnum rufescensHygrocybe ceraceaHygrocybe chlorophanaHygrocybe coccineaHygrocybe laetaHygrocybe miniataHygrocybe niveaHygrocybe psittacinaHygrocybe virgineaHypholoma epixanthumHypholoma fasciculareHypholoma sublateritiumInocybe geophyllaInocybe geophylla var. lilacinaInocybe petiginosaLaccaria amethysteaLactarius aurantiacusLactarius blenniusLactarius chrysorrheusLactarius cimicariusLactarius deliciosusLactarius glyciosmusLactarius hysginusLactarius insulsusLactarius mitissimusLactarius necatorLactarius piperatusLactarius pubescensLactarius quietusLactarius serifluusLactarius subdulcisLactarius torminosusLactarius uvidusLactarius vellereusLactarius vietusLeccinum scabrumLeptoglossum acerosumLeptonia sericellaLeptonia serrulataLycoperdon perlatumLycoperdon pyriformeMarasmius ramealisMarasmius rotulaMycena aetitesMycena amygdalinaMycena corticola

Mycena epipterygiaMycena flavoalbaMycena galericulataMycena galopoda var. nigraMycena galopusMycena phyllogenaMycena polygrammaMycena puraMycena tenerrimaNaucoria escharoidesOmphalina ericetorumOudemansiella mucidaPanaeolus campanulatusPanaeolus sphinctrinusPaxillus involutusPhlebia radiataPiptoporus betulinusPluteus cervinusPolyporus squamosusPsathyrella atomataPsathyrella bifronsPsathyrella corrugisPsathyrella fibrillosaPsathyrella gossypinaPsathyrella gracilisPsathyrella stercorariaPsathyrella velutinumPsilocybe crobulaPsilocybe inquilinaPsilocybe semilanceataRhodophyllus griseorubellusRussula atropurpureaRussula cyanoxanthaRussula felleaRussula fragilisRussula galochroaRussula lepidaRussula luteaRussula nigricansRussula nitidaRussula ochroleucaRussula puellarisRussula pulchellaRussula sardoniaRussula vescaRussula violacea

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Russula xerampelinaScleroderma citrinumScleroderma verrucosumSphaerobolus stellatusStereum rugosumStropharia aeruginosaStropharia semiglobataStropharia squamosaSuillus bovinusSuillus grevilleiTricholoma albumTricholoma flavobrunneumTricholoma saponaceumTricholoma virgatumTricholomopsis rutilansTubaria furfuraceaXerocomus badiusXerocomus subtomentosus

BASIDIOMYCETES (old names)Calocera strictaCantharellus muscigenusClavaria kunzeiCollybia platyphyllaCorticium lacteumCortinarius camurusCortinarius castaneusCortinarius dolabratusCortinarius glaucopusCortinarius impennisCortinarius leucopusCortinarius penicillatusCyphella muscigenaFlammula tricholomaHypholoma hydrophilumInocybe rimosaIrpex obliquusLycoperdon umbrinumMycena discopodaMycena setosaMycena tenuisNaucoria melinoidesPholiota marginataPholiota mutabilisPistillaria puberulaPolyporus caesius

Poria medullapanusRussula fragilis var. violaceaStereum spadiceum

BASIDIOMYCETES (additions)Biatoropsis usnearumExidia albidaHygrophorus pratensisMycena pseudocorticolaTremella mesentericaTremella pertusariae

BASIDIOMYCETES (Rusts & Smuts)Melampsora hypericorumPhragmidium violaceumPuccinia graminisPuccinia menthaePuccinia umbiliciUstilago hydropiperisUstilago violacea

ASCOMYCETESApiocea chrysospermaAscobolus furfuraceusAscocoryne sarcoidesBisporella citrinaBulgaria inquinansChlorosplenium aeruginascensCoccomyces coronatusDiatrype disciformisDiatrype stigmaDiatrypella quercinaGeoglossum microsporum *Helvella macropusHymenoscypha daedaleaeHymenoscyphus herbarumHymenoscyphus virgultorumHypoxylon fuscumHysterium pulicareLachnum apalumLachnum ciliareLachnum niveumLachnum virgineumLasiosphaeria ovinaLeotia lubricaMollisia cinerea

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Mycosphaerella depazeiformisMycosphaerella punctiformisOrbilia leucostigmaOtidea cochleataPezizella parile *Pleospora herbarumRhopographus filicinusRhytisma acerinumRutstroemia firmaSclerotinia fuckelianaTerreria cladophilumTrochila ilicinaUstulina deustaValsa lata *Xylaria hypoxylon

ASCOMYCETES (Lichen forming andlichenicolous species)Abrothallus bertianusAbrothallus microspermusAbrothallus usneaeAcrocordia gemmataAgonimia octosporaArthonia cinnabarinaArthonia didymaArthonia graphidicolaArthonia ilicinaArthonia muscigenaArthonia punctiformisArthonia radiataArthonia spadiceaArthonia thelotrematisArthonia vinosaArthopyrenia antecellansArthopyrenia carneobrunneolaArthopyrenia lapponinaArthopyrenia punctiformisAspicilia caesiocinereaAspicilia cinereaBacidia arceutinaBacidia inundataBacidia viridifarinosaBactrospora corticolaBaeomyces rufusBiatorina epixanthoidesBiatorina sphaeroides

Buellia aethaleaBuellia griseovirensCaloplaca ferrugineaCatillaria atropurpureaCatillaria nigroclavataCatillaria pulvureaCelothelium ischnobelumChrysothrix candelarisCladonia chlorophaeaCladonia coniocraeaCladonia macilentaCladonia polydactylaCladonia portentosaCladonia pyxidataCladonia rangiformisCladonia squamosaCladonia subcervicornisCoccotrema citrinescensCystocoleus ebeneusDegelia atlanticaDermatocarpon luridumDimerella dilutaDimerella luteaEnterographa crassaEnterographa hutchinsiaeEnterographa zonataEphebe lanataEvernia prunastriFellhanera bouteilleiFuscidea cyathoidesFuscidea lightfootiiGraphina anguinaGraphis elegansGraphis scriptaGyalideopsis anastomosansHaematomma elatinumHaematomma ochroleucumHerteliana tayloriiHeterodermia obscurataHomostegia piggotiiHypogymnia physodesHypogymnia tubulosaIonaspis lacustrisJapewia carrolliiLecanactis abietinaLecanora argentata

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Lecanora carpineaLecanora chlaroteraLecanora expallensLecanora gangaleoidesLecanora jamesiiLecanora polytropaLecidea fuscoatraLecidea hypnorumLecidea lacteaLecidea planaLecidea sanguineoatraLecidella elaeochromaLecidella scabraLepraria lobificansLepraria umbricolaLeproloma vouauxiiLeptogium cyanescensLeptogium lichenoidesLobaria pulmonariaLobaria scrobiculataLoxospora elatinaMegalospora tuberculosaMelaspilea ochrothalamiaMicarea cinereaMicarea hedlundiiMicarea leprosulaMicarea lignariaMicarea peliocarpaMicarea prasinaMycoblastus sterilisMycoglaena myricaeMycomicrothelia confusaMycoporum quercusNephroma laevigatumNormandina pulchellaOchrolechia androgynaOchrolechia dealbescensOchrolechia parellaOpegrapha atraOpegrapha gyrocarpaOpegrapha herbarumOpegrapha ochrocheilaOpegrapha saxatilisOpegrapha thelotrematisOpegrapha vulgataPannaria conoplea

Pannaria pezizoidesPannaria rubiginosaParmelia caperataParmelia conspersaParmelia crinitaParmelia glabratulaParmelia laevigataParmelia mougeotiiParmelia perlataParmelia revolutaParmelia saxatilisParmelia sinuosaParmelia subauriferaParmelia sulcataPeltigera collinaPeltigera horizontalisPeltigera lactucifoliaPeltigera membranaceaPeltigera praetextataPertusaria albescensPertusaria amaraPertusaria corallinaPertusaria flavicansPertusaria flavidaPertusaria hymeneaPertusaria leioplacaPertusaria pertusaPhaeographis smithiiPhlyctis argenaPhyllopsora roseiPhyscia aipoliaPlacopsis gelidaPlacynthiella uliginosaPolychidium dendriscumPorina chloroticaPorina lectissimaPorpidia caesioatraPorpidia macrocarpaPorpidia tuberculosaPronectria anisosporaPseudocyphellaria norvegicaPyrenula macrosporaPyrenula occidentalisPyrrhospora querneaRamalina farinaceaRhizocarpon geographicum

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Rhizocarpon lavatumRhizocarpon obscuratumSchismatomma cretaceumSkyttea nitschkeiStaurothele fissaStenocybe septataSticta canariensisSticta canariensis dufouriiSticta fuliginosaSticta limbataSticta sylvaticaThelotrema lepadinumTomasellia gelatinosaTrapelia coarctataTrapelia involutaTrapeliopsis flexuosaTrapeliopsis granulosaTrapeliopsis pseudogranulosaUsnea cornutaUsnea flammeaUsnea fragilescensUsnea subfloridanaVerrucaria aethiobolaVerrucaria hydrelaXanthoria parietinaZamenhofia rosei

MITOSPORIC FUNGIAspergillus herbariorumColletotrichum hederaeCylindrium flavovirensDoratomyces stemonitisHymenostilbe arachnophilaSporochisma mirabileTorula herbarumTrichoderma viride *Zygodemus fuscus *

MITOSPORIC FUNGI (on lichens)Cornutispora lichenicolaEndophragmiella hughesiiLaeviomyces pertusariicolaLichenoconium erodensPhoma cytosporaSclerococcum sphaeraleVouauxiella lichenicola

Vouauxiella uniseptataXanthoriicola physciae

PHYCOMYCETESEntomophthora americanaPilobolus crystallinus

MYXOMYCETESArcyria cinereaArcyria denudataArcyria incarnataBadhamia paniceaBadhamia utricularisCalomyxa metallicaCeratiomyxa fruticulosaComatricha laxaComatricha nigraCraterium minutumCribaria argillaceaCribaria cancellataDidymium melanospermumDidymium nigripesDidymium squamulosumFuligo septicaLeocarpus fragilisLycogala epidendrum s latMucilago crustaceaPhysarium compressumPhysarium leucophaeumPhysarium nutansStemonitis fuscaStemonitopsis typhinaTrichia affinisTrichia botrytisTrichia decipiensTrichia varia

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